Walls of Bricks
by AngryOlympian
Summary: Time. It can heal all wounds, and also break down the mightiest walls. Rated T for mature subject matter, swearing, and violence. "Alternative" ending to the series. (Episode 49 onwards disregarded.)
1. Chapter 1

**Authors Note (Please Read)**

Hello there! It has been a while, and I am happy to announce my new fanfic; "Walls of Bricks". I have been working on it for the past year, and I am, as a matter of fact, Im not done as I say this, (November 2013). I am however, finished the first of two act. I plan on releasing these chapters every sunday until the first act is complete. I will release the second act the same way once it is finished.

First, however, I would like to share a few words with my fellow fanficcers. (Its a word now. I do what I want.)

I remember the day I round Class of the Titans from my childhood. I was very into it for a while. That phase has long gone, but here I am, still writing about this cartoon that I used to watch when I was younger. Why? As sappy as this sounds, writing about Class of the Titans has sparked a passion for story making and writing. Time, however does change things. In this story, I have tried to stay as true to the storyline as possible,but it has indeed been a while since I watched COTT religiously so some facts may be a little off, (I hope not, Ive spent too much time on this to screw up on small details. You may find that this story has a very different approach to the COTT universe. It is darker, and deeper than the original plot. I have done my best to evolve this to the matured audience of COTT. After all, many of us have grown up a great deal since watching the show. I started watching elementary school, and here I am at university studying Marine Biology.

I am not the best writer, I'll admit. I am no professional, but that is the beauty of fan fiction. Anyone can write! Scientists can write, high school students can write, people undergoing mid-life crises can write! I have made an effort to present good writing. The best I can do as an amateur writer.

It is also due to you, my readers. Over the years, I have received wonderful feedback on my work and I think that you guys are one of the real reasons I write. All of you! Thank you for reading my stories. This story goes out to you as a thank you for being interested in my stories.

**As a disclaimer, I would like to announce that this is indeed a fan fiction. It takes the ideas and concepts of a story and expands on it. I do not own any characters nor do I the series. All rights remain with their respective owners. **

**This story is going to be labeled as Teen. This is due to violence, quite mature subject matter, explosions, and swearing. **

**IMPORTANT: This story branches off from the original story fore episode 49, so the conclusions of relationships, and the phantom menace pretty much never happened. This is the "alternative" story of how it all ended. This is Walls of Bricks.**

**ACT ONE: Destruam**

**Chapter 01**

_Chapter Theme: Everybody wants to rule the world -Lorde_

(This is just a theme song for each chapter. This one would be the opening title sequence in but listen to it while you read! It will all be good music I promise!This chapter will be longer than usual, being the prologue/ premier!)

* * *

The cave was dark damp, yet the massive hearth filled the place with a fiery heat that dug deep into your bones. The flames leaped into the golden eyes of Cronus, often full of devious plots, but now replaced with despair and fatigue. He paces the room frantically, cursing and ranting, with company of an abused giant and a shadowy figure, hiding from the brightness of the fire, concealed and almost invisible, except for the pale blue eyes that gaze out like stars on a clear night. It was difficult to determine where they were they were so far underground. The only light there was was of the massive fire, burning coal into the air.

"Blast those damn kids." Cronus spluttered, "The world should have been mine the day I came out of that pithole they call a prison. What went wrong Agnon?" The giant replied to this with his usual shrug and grunt.

"You did say it was foretold that they will succeed," the shadowy figure spoke, his voice course, rundown, but soothing to the ear. Cronus stopped to listen, but he was too proud to submit his vulnerability to the charm.

"It didn't say how or when. Maybe they have already gotten their victory and I still have my chance, or maybe I have already lost. What does it matter? I have thrown every boulder, beast and weapon I can muster, and it hardly even makes a dent! It seems we are doomed to fail." He thrust his fist into the stone wall, cracking it like Styrofoam and yelled in frustration.

"Fate is absolute. No matter how hard you try to escape or overcome, it will always win. The Oracle has been correct for 4000 years without fault, has he not?" He replied.

"So you suggest giving up? Tell me again where I found you mortal wretch."

"If I am not mistaken, I found you. I was caught in crossfire between you and your friends. When I caught on they were with the gods, I managed to help you escape from them when you got cornered." He stepped into the red light. His hair was shaved on the sides, and longer on the top, black with a bluish tint and his complexion clear and shaved. "I chose to fight for you because I have a score to settle with the gods. Not because of you. I'm in it for my reasons, not yours."

Cronus grunted, "Fine, you may be mortal, but I've seen you fight. I could use a hand like yours. Impressive for one of your limitations. But, don't try to make me look stupid boy, I know why you're here. Power. When we are victorious, I will give you all the strength you can desire as I promised." Cronus turned to the fire and quietly muttered;

"But how can we defy fate?"

"There is...One other option." The man said. The silence followed his words where only flickers of flames were heard.

"What do you mean "one other option"? I've told you I've tried everything." He turned back to the fire.

"When I arrived here last week, I had a look at your library. Not the mortal ones, even though I question you choice of "fifty shades of grey". I found something in the immortal record section."

His eyes lit up. "Impossible, I leave that closet closed and locked all times. It's magically sealed!"

"The key was under your pillow. An old trick I noticed when living in L.A. Rich fools are like gods in many ways, you know?" He replied holding a shiny silver key in his hand.

"Those records were not meant for mortal eyes!"

"I'm still in one piece, aren't I?"

"The fact that you're still alive is a miracle."

The man shrugged. Anyways, it didn't make much sense to me, but I did gather some king of story about when the Oracle was-."

"Stop! I know where you're going with this. I will not do it. It's too risky." He growled, "That was locked behind bars for a reason. I will not go through with that- whatever it is. I'm not going to undo what I hid all of those years ago."

"It is an option, one that could win us this war."

"I will not discuss this anymore." The figure left the room as Cronus gazed into the hot flames. His delicate footsteps squelching with the sound of converse on a damp floor.

* * *

April, many consider it a dull and wet month. Wet south winds blow off the last of winter from the ground and replace what is left to puddles in the ground. This made no difference to a large high school in the middle of downtown New Olympia. The season of spring was a short one; so many sports where summer was deemed too hot and the winters too inhospitable took the chance to utilize the fields. And so the fields were ground zero for the ending of many seasons, not excluding the ladies senior field hockey team. Dressed in jerseys of scarlet and deep dark red, the victorious team marched into the heated change rooms. Relieved from a tiresome match, they slowly change and converse with one another.

"Good game, ladies." Yelled out a tall blonde woman with a slightly hoarse voice. Her hair was curly and held back with a red band to match her uniform, "Next stop, the semi finals!"

"Atlanta, you made quite the comeback the second half," said the coach, clasping the shortest and youngest girl on the team. Her hair was scarlet but her eyes were a piercing, ice cold blue which showed determination. "But that tackle you made was reckless. Had the referee seen it, you would have been suspended for he rest of he season. We need you for the next two games, don't lose your head." Atlanta silently continued to take her cleats off. The coach moved on, telling the others to get a move on. The soccer team would be coming in from their practice soon as well.

"Why don't we finish hockey talk for the day? I heard they've announced the prom theme today," said another blonde, but unlike the captain, she was more slender and her hair was almost white blonde and flawlessly straight, "Fire and Ice." That slender blonde was named Sabrina. She was the iconic pretty girl with an attitude. Blonde hair and a fit, shapely body with a sense of confidence. _Maybe too much confidence. _Thought Atlanta. She had as many friends as she did enemies. She was also the second best offensive player on the team. Second.

The larger blonde chuckled, "Yeah, sounds pretty cheesy, last years prom was pretty pointless too, I'm not bothering this year. Most of my friends have left."

"But it's prom, Janet. Just because you're a victory lapper doesn't mean you can't go." A frail voice from the back said. It was Isabelle, a French immigrant and while she wasn't the best hockey player on the team, she was considered the most attractive girl in school. And with good reason. Her hair was long and dark brown with hazel eyes and a delicate smile, which showed perfect white teeth. Her charm was irresistible, even amongst the team.

"Well, if you find me a date, I'll think about it." Janet muttered.

"Herry might, he's probably the only guy big enough to take you on." giggled the Sabrina. Across the room, long light red hair turned to the sound of a friend's name. Hearing the context turned her frown into an even bigger frown.

"Last time I heard Sabrina, you don't exactly have a date yourself." Theresa replied in defence of Janet. The team didn't heavily react to this. Everyone knew Theresa and Sabrina didn't see eye to eye. And so they continued changing, despite the two girls glaring at one another.

"I've got my eyes on some potential candidates. Your friend Jay is pretty cute, maybe you should drop him a hint for me."

"In your dreams," said Theresa, who finished changing and strutted out of the room. Sabrina cracked a smile. She was now scanning the room for someone else to bug. Her eyes set on Atlanta, packing her sweaty gear into a bag. It was a Friday, but she didn't look like it was. Her sweatpants and zipped hoodie inferred that she wasn't planning on going out. She rarely was unless it was running.

"What about you "lil' Lanta"?" Sabrina asked, "got anyone to take to prom. You and Archie are practically joined by the hip, why not go ask him?"

Atlanta was a hot head and everyone knew it. Remarks like that set of a fairly predictable reaction. Atlanta shared Theresa's dislike of Sabrina, except she was less afraid of her and Atlanta was not in the mood.

"Why don't you go join your little whore party and leave me alone?" Her voice was aggressive and assertive, but Sabrina wasn't scared.

"Shame really. You waste your time with your own little band of playmates and never seem to do anything fun. Tell me Atlanta, have you ever even gotten drunk? Or had sex with a guy?"

"Alcohol can cause liver and brain damage. I don't need to google that to know ." She replied, looking Sabrina up and down as she grabbed her bag and heaved it over her shoulder.

"What about the other one? You're a pretty face, surely somebody has tried to make a move on you." Sabrina asked. They were close enough to feel Atlanta's fuming on her face.

"Fuck off." And with that Atlanta left the room. Sabrina simply sneered.

She joined up with Theresa and Isabelle in the lobby of the school, they were just chatting as usual.

"So Atlanta," Theresa said, "Isabelle and I are going to the mall to grab some things, want to join up?"

She grinned, glad not to be hearing about Sabrina or anything about prom.

"Nah, not today, Archie are taking our long boards along the harbour."

"You just played an hour and a half of hockey and you want to do more exercise?" joked Isabelle, "make sure you don't exercise yourself to death!"

"Hey, it's me." Atlanta smiled as she hopped onto her skateboard half way through the door. Within a blink she was gone. Theresa and Isabelle were the only two people left in the lobby.

"I worry about her sometimes," Isabelle said. Her french accent came out a little strong on occasions. She looked down to check her phone.

"Atlanta doesn't like to stay still for long." Theresa replied, looking a Isabelle, who's focus was completely on her phone. "Another hopeless romantic asking for a date to prom?"

"Oui," She replied unemotionally, it seemed almost alien in her voice and complexion, "I don't quite think the message has gotten to these people that I have a date. I think some know and ask anyways. It's quite ridiculous. Every corner there seems to be a guy with a smile and the same question."

"Speaking of dates, you haven't yet told me who the lucky guy is."

Locking her phone, Isabelle laughed. It was a timid, yet concise laugh that would make any guy and several girls in the vicinity melt. "That's right! I haven't told you yet, well he asked me yesterday in the sweetest way possible!"

"So who is it?"

* * *

"Are you kidding me?" Neil shrieked, gripping his hair so hard it nearly fell out, "she said YES?"

"Yeah, I guess she did." Smiled the short, black one with the big hair. The guys all sat back, shocked and impressed at the feat of this seemingly doomedtonotgetadate guy. That was the joke between Neil and Archie. They loved the guy, but they knew his record with girls wasn't the best.

"How?" asked Archie dumbfoundedly.

"I wrote her a poem in French, and then recited it to her during lunch."

"In front of her friends?" asked Neil.

"Yeah."

A moment of silence went across the table.

"I'm not gonna lie Odie, I don't have the guts to do that." Said Herry.

Jay was giving him the nod and smile which was clear of his approval. "Good on you Odie. It's about time somebody recognized your talents for French poetry."

They all laughed together. They were outside on the empty patio of their favourite diner. Herry had two plates of burgers and fries in front of him while the others just enjoyed sharing a plate of nachos. The sky was overcast, and they were all bundled up in spring jackets. There were a few birds in the sky, but they were soon to swarming in tweeting chickadees and screeching seagulls. The wind had died down and the boys enjoyed the break.

Archie caught sight of the fiery red hair from a half-mile away and smiled. Atlanta approached quickly and make a smooth, stylish stop.

"Hey guys," said Atlanta. She had boarded six city blocks faster than most cars go; yet she was hardly even out of breath. The guys smiled at her, a friendly gesture.

"How did your hockey game go?" Asked Jay.

"We're gonna hit the semi finals!" She exclaimed, "We are not letting St Francis take the cup from us this time."

Saint Francis was an all girl's school on the far side of town and bitter rivals with New Olympia high. They had taken the cup three years in a row, and the girls were willing to play dirty to get it.

She looked to Archie with a cheerful smirk, "Lets go Archie."

He was already ahead of her. He grabbed his long board and lunged after her. She was already twenty yards ahead. They were both gone, leaving the rest of the guys in a cloud of dust. Jay turned back to see the others staring at him.

"Neither of them have a clue, do they?" Remarked Odie. His eyes were tired and solemn from a long day of work. They were all exhausted, glad not to need to worry about training after school. They had been fighting Cronus for close to two years now, and things were finally starting to turn for the better. While he was impossible to track when he vanished, Cronus was growing predictable. His assaults had been growing weaker and less frequent. The god of time himself was starting to see wear and tear. But he was not the only one. The team was beginning to wear out too.

Atlanta and Archie had bounties of energy, which seemed to keep them going. Archie was no less aggressive or hot tempered despite the practice, drills, and even occasional therapy over the past two years. However, Ares could give him any weapon from his closet and Archie would be able to fight for hours on end. Atlanta's aim had become deadly, if it wasn't already, but she was starting to begin feeling uncomfortable socially. It never used to bother her before, but she had begun to see her few other friends outside the group parting ways. They were getting more into parties and boys, and Atlanta just wasn't like that. Not as much as they were at least. Neil kept himself as pristine as possible and his luck with it, but even he was often found complaining after missions about the blisters on his feet, and how nobody ever seemed to understand him. Herry was as big as ever, eating as much as ever, and lifting as much as ever. He was always calm, but could be in fact quite a pushover, never wanting to hurt anyone he didn't need to. Odie was maintaining a 95% average in school, but at the cost of rest. He struggled in previous missions to stay focused. Theresa had grown powerful with her telepathy, but she would often be found skipping meals and headaches would come out of the blue. Despite that, she remained focused and kept the others in check. Jay, however, was suffering the most. He felt like he had the weight of the world on him. He hardly slept and was barely passing his classes. He hadn't gone sailing all summer. He spent all of his waking hours in books or in the combat room. His sacrifices have made progress. He had spent whole nights practising with every weapon he could find in both Ares and Athena's wardrobe. He knew how to take down any opponent, and in any way he desired. There had been a few weeks here he had vanished for whole nights, practising his newly found skills on petty criminals. Theresa eventually stopped him, insisting he rest before he fell apart. Despite the cracks forming, Cronus was beginning to give way more than they were. The end was in sight. _Just once though, just for a bit, I would like to get away from this. _ He would frequently tell himself.

"Jay?"

He blinked, realizing he had strayed deep into thought. Remembering the question, he replied;

"One day they will find it out. Its only a matter of time."

"Let's hope it's soon," said Neil, "One less prom couple to worry about. Am I wrong?"

They talked and laughed some more before leaving to return to the brownstone.

**Feedback is always appreciated. Let me know what you think in the reviews!**


	2. Chapter 2

**Authors Note:**

I'll keep this short. Thanks for the feedback! I did however notice a typo that was there AFTER I published it, which is never infuriating at all. Like I said last week, its every Sunday so tune in very Sunday to see a new chapter! At least util Act 1 is finished.

**Act One: Destruam**

**Chapter 02**

_Chapter Theme: Come as you are - Nirvana_

The two boarders had reached the end of the harbour pier. It was a favourite place for Atlanta and Archie. They could do skateboarding tricks to their heart's content until the sun went down. Nobody came on the pier. It was old, undesired, and very cold at this time of year. The locals used the brand new pier on the far side of the harbour. The sun was setting as the two had stopped to catch their breath on the stone brick wall that dropped to the rocks shielding the structure below. Beyond, they could see the merciless waves bash at the shore in a colour of deep blue-grey ocean clashing with white foam. A storm was coming in. The winds were high and the sky had grown grey and dark. Between them, few words were spoken. They didn't need them. The fierce wind brushing against their hair and face gave them a thrill of the immensity and power of the storm. Yet, they felt invincible.

"Well, it happened. Those stuck up bitches are blabbering about prom now."

"Really? It isn't for a few weeks yet."

"Exactly."

"But then again, Odie's got a date."

"Really? Well, that is... motivating. What about the others?"

"Herry asking Katrina in a few days, Neil had around ten hints during lunch alone and Jay..."

"-Has no idea." She finished. Smirking. "And you?"

"Uhh," he mumbled. He knew exactly who he wanted to take. He had spent hours looking in the mirror practising, but now the moment was here, he was stumbling over his own words. Blushing, "nobody... err yet." _Well good job Archie. You screwed that one up._

"Oh," she replied, "Don't worry, I'm sure there is some girl out there for you just waiting for you to ask her."

"Thanks 'Lanta." He said awkwardly. Archie looked at the approaching clouds. They were dark and ominous, emitting shining forks of lightning every few minutes. It was a mid spring storm without doubt. "We should probably go. I think were gonna get soaked."

"In a few minutes," she replied, "I want to soak in this wind a little more."

* * *

The time was early in the morning, but in Cronus' Cave, there was no telling of what was happening beyond the mile thick granite walls. The god of time, however always knew the exact time to the microsecond without even needing to think of it. He had spent the past week in his library looking up books, ancient scrolls, and even classified government files on the supernatural. It was all in vain. He saw nothing.

"Bigfoot... not big enough." He muttered, "Aliens; all false conspiracies." He had gone through what felt like a million files. Everything was not strong enough or already defeated by the teenagers. He finally snapped, flipping the desk sending papers in the air. As they fluttered he slashed them in half with his golden scythe. He raged, ensuring he carved every last useless piece. One scroll came up, but when he slashed, it did not break, but was knocked aside, smashing into a bookshelf toppling a few volumes on Roman monsters. Cronus, realizing what the scroll was, dashed to pick it up. He blew off the dust that had gathered on it, and stared at the beautiful weave of its construction.

The scroll was from the immortal section, locked and sealed. The paper was made from the locks of Gaia plant. Gaia would never give Cronus pieces of her hair. Luckily, this plant could make a good substitute. No weapon, mortal or immortal could break it. Each immortal scroll in that closet bore a unique seal giving an implication to its information. His one had been broken; but the imprint was still obvious. It was of a long necked bird holding a golden scythe. Cronus knew exactly what it was. It was the scroll the foolish boy had picked up. These scrolls were one of a kind. The one he held, not a single other existed like it. Nobody but him remembered what was written on it, but even the god of time has forgotten. He had used the scrolls to lock away the secrets of his dealings when he was a titan king. They bore knowledge of a time long before mortals knew how to get down from their trees and before the Olympians were even born. Before he was taken to Tartarus, when his defeat was imminent, Cronus had hidden several dozens of these scrolls, wary of them falling into his son's hands. When he returned, he dug them up and sealed them in the closet. He had not touched any of them since. There was a reason that Cronus had put them into scrolls. Even id he had forgotten what the memories were, he certainly remembered that part.

Holding it in his hand, for the first time in eons, a part of him wanted to unravel from the broken golden seal. But he snapped back.

"No no NO!" He yelled to himself, "I will not do it." He was alone in the cave today so his voice. Echoed across the walls. Agnon and the stranger had gone hunting in the nearby forests, complaining about not having food. Cronus was an immortal god, so he didn't need to worry about food, but Agnon, despite being as well off without food as Cronus, was eager to eat some fresh venison.

The echoes seemed to replace them in a way, saying, "I will not do it," over, and over again. But as the echoes continued, it began to sound like "do it, do it."

It felt like the scroll was saying it too. "Do it, do it," It said, "open me, regain your former knowledge," He remembered not the contents of the scroll. All he remembered was that he would not have written the scroll if the contents were too powerful to be written anywhere else. Gaia's locks, which were actually a rare plant with magical capabilities was rare to come across, especially since they went extinct 2000 years ago.

_What am I doing_? He thought to himself, _I am like a mortal, curious of what I do not know. Am I so desperate for a solution that I must undo what I have done? Is it worth it?_

"Do it, do it." The echoes continued quietly behind his back.

He did not know if it was worth it. He had no idea what was in that bloody scroll.

But the he thought again. Whatever was hidden in that scroll was powerful. Information, knowledge, whatever it was, It could be a most powerful weapon that could surely lead to the downfall of the gods. And, he was not just a mere mortal; he was the titan god of time. Surely he could handle whatever he had placed in that scroll.

Cronus hovered his hand over the scroll, still hesitant. But after a deep breath, his sharp, golden eyes staring back at him in the shiny paper, he grabbed the scroll with a fierce grip and unravelled it.

At that second he felt a crippling pain like he had never experienced before.


	3. Chapter 3

**Authors Note:**

Thanks for the reviews everyone. Keep em coming.

You guys got quite lucky today. This is a long chapter. It was either make it too short or to long, so I chose long. Let me know if you prefer longer or shorter chapters. Shorter chapters are easier to read I find, and will prolong the longevity of the story (and get me more reviews, muehehe). Long chapters, however, give you so much juicy story! Let me know which you want, and I shall do my best to appease the masses!

**ACT ONE: Destruam**

**Chapter 03**

_Chapter Theme: Tongue Tied - Grouplove_

A casual Sunday night in the brownstone. The lights in the house had been out for hours, save for one. Jay sat at his desk. The rain was lashing down and he hadn't really been sleeping. Nobody else was awake except for himself. He was looking at a few old maps and scrolls. It was a few notes Artemis had found about sun creatures. Nothing of any threat. There was one, which resembled a horse on fire that would frequently leap into the air and create a burst of flame, often causing solar flares. They were all under the control of Artemis himself of course, but it intrigued him. There were so many creatures that existed, serving the gods or otherwise, that nobody really knew much about. To find any records on them, you needed to delve very deeply into the gods records.

He turned to his left. He thought he heard a muffled whisper behind him, but there was nothing there. He shoved it off as his mind playing tricks on him.

_Jay..._

There it was again. Still nothing behind him. He started to notice a voice in the whisper but he lost it as soon as it was gone.

_Jay._

He recognized the voice. Theresa. It was in his head, but she was supposedly fast asleep and had been so for hours. _Has she woken up? Is she looking for something? _He thought to himself.

_Jay._

It was her alright. She sounded like she was calling for help. Jay got up, realizing something wasn't quite right, and creaked his door slowly open, tiptoeing his way out into the hallway.

_Jay!_

Her voice had suddenly turned into an internal sledgehammer. Almost knocking him into the wall. In a more hurried pace he rushed to the door and opened it open when the voice began to scream in his head. The shriek of her panicked voice was worse than any migraine he had ever experienced. _Please, make it stop! _He thought as he gripped his head in pain.

_JAY!_

He saw that she was still in bed. Something was wrong. "Theresa!" He yelped, lunging onto the bed and gripping her on the shoulders. The shrieking was still in his head. He shook her "Wake up!"

Her eyes dashed awake and the shrieking, along with a subtle ringing noise died down into silence. Jay was breathing hard, his head throbbing. Jay backed away, relived of the pain he had just felt.

"Jay, are you Okay?" Her tired eyes looked at him confused. She seemed to be okay.

Gasping for breath, "You, you were – you were screaming."

"Screaming?"

Jay paused for a second. "Theresa, were you having a vision?" _And why would you be calling my name in a vision? Is something going to happen to me?_

Her eyes were both confused and worried and she looked pale, like she had woken up from a nightmare.

"No. I remember my visions. Right now I just feel tired."

"I know what I heard. You were screaming," he said, "It was like you were in pain."

She just gave him a confused and annoyed look. The one you would get for waking someone up at 3AM.

"I'm fine. Go to sleep Jay."

"What?"

"You wouldn't be hearing voices in your head if you actually got some damn sleep. If I was having a vision I would have told you. Go to sleep Jay."

She closed the door in his face. Jay knew what he heard. It was clear as day in his mind. Theresa always told the team about her visions, no matter how irrelevant they were. Maybe she was right. He hadn't slept well for weeks. He went back to his room to look at his desk full of papers.

_I need a break from this._ He thought to himself. _I'm not sure how much more of this I can take. I'll start with some sleep. Maybe I should join the gang in going out this weekend._

* * *

The blue haired man sat back on an old worn out chair, playing with his sharp, curved dagger. He looked cheerfully bored. The fire was blazing around the corner, but he preferred the cold, shadowy corner away from its illumination.

His hunting day had been met with moderate success. He caught a few rabbits, and foraged some apples from an orchard. Agnon had been fairly disappointed with the absence of deer, but the nearby road construction in the valley had scared them all away. The young man took the high road and gave him most of the rabbits. A wise choice, given the size of the giant.

As he played with his knife, Cronus strode into the room. He looked like he had not had a wink of sleep for days. He always looked tired these days, but he looked more drained of power today for some reason. Despite how he looked, he sounded as tyrannical as ever.

"When you looked at the scroll, what did you see?" Bellowed Cronus as he paced in front of the fire.

Acknowledging the question, the man continued to play with his knife.

"Don't play cocky with me dear boy." said Cronus, "Those scrolls are not a simple as words on paper. What did you see?"

"Only bits and pieces. I didn't get all the stuff it sent at me, but I got a few things; it was a situation when that Oracle guy as wrong about something big, really big."

"Is that all?" asked Cronus.

"No. I felt something. I felt a weird pain, I can't really explain it, it just seemed to hurt in a lot of places in my body. I felt like I was on fire, even though I wasn't.

Cronus sighed. "Sounds like some of the effects of the scroll. You're lucky to be alive. I would have expected the scroll to turn your mind into ashes."

"From the look of you, I reckon you just got a lot more out of it than I did." Cronus didn't like that comment, "So what was the story behind it all then?" The man still lay back in his worn out chair, smoking a cigarette, looking like he didn't have a care in the world. Cronus looked at him, _This one has no respect_, then back to the fire.

"It was a long time ago. Before any of the Olympian children existed. I ruled the world for eons, my reign had been peaceful with few major conflicts, until then."

"What happened?"

"I'll tell you if you stop interrupting! You mortals-"

"I prefer the term human. You call yourselves gods, and we cal you that. We call ourselves humans."

Cronus growled. "You "humans" were beginning to evolve, and some of us saw potential in you. You were learning to using tools, and got fire. That story Zeus made of about Prometheus was a whole load of B.S. made to make him look more impressive to your ancestors. Your kind figured it out by yourselves. I'll vouch for that myself."

The man crooked a smile.

"Anyways, there were others who were uncomfortable with your potential. They claimed to foresee your achievements, and were scared of the damage you would cause to the earth. Their name still avoids me, but these beings proposed a safer, more controlled replacement of your species. They appeared to be perfect in structure and physiology. Not too far from human, except they lacked the individual intelligence. They simply did what they were told like robots."

"Sounds ideal I guess. Why did it not go through?"

"Because they were boring. They would do exactly as they told them without question. I didn't want someone like them to have that power over the earth. I refused to let them replace humans. It would have caused a disruption in the balance of power both in my council and on the earth. And frankly, I didn't believe it to be right to punish someone for something they haven't yet done."

"Wait, hold on. You, Cronus, the titan of time, sworn enemy of Zeus, the god of mortals, defended us?"

Cronus paused, for a moment he was almost speechless.

"Irrelevant. The point is, the others opposed my refusal and promised that they would extinguish humans with or without my consent. As a result, I banished them from my council and imprisoned them.

The man dropped his now used cigarette butt on the ground and crushed it with his worn out converse. "Where does the oracle fit into this? The scroll stated he was wrong about some sort of prophecy."

"Ah yes. He said that these beings would be my downfall. A few years after I had locked them away, the Oracle then told me that a son would cause my downfall. That one, however, was a little more correct."

"So he wasn't wrong."

"They had no direct part in my defeat. The prophecy never came true," he snapped back. And turned to the fire again.

The man got out of the seat. His posture became almost perfect as he crept from the shadows; the fire's light outlined his strong cheekbones and sly smile. "So what's the plan?"

Cronus opened his hand, and a small ball of fire appeared. Cronus gazed at it for a moment. The flame struggled to stay alight as the bigger flame beside it took all of the oxygen.

"Well, we don't have any other options here. We will find these things, and negotiate with them. These beings of theirs may give us the army we need to defeat the gods." He gripped his fist, like he was squeezing the little sun in his hand to smithereens. "They have a power greater than any mortal species. A power great enough to defeat Zeus." He lowered his hand, looking at the damp, dark cave floor. "First however, we need to know where I banished them. I left a key, which will give us that information. It will take time, but I will remember the location where I left the key to their prison. Be off, I want to be alone."

Cronus was not willing to admit how much the scroll had taken out of him. He needed not only time to remember the keys whereabouts, but he needed to prepare himself. It seemed to take longer after each mission to recharge his powers. Ever since he left the prison in tartarus and began fighting, he started to feel like he was, well, aging. It was a strange feeling he had never experienced before, and shouldn't be experiencing. He was a titan god, not a mortal. What was happening to him? He shook off his tiredness. Obtaining the key would require his powers, and no doubt the teenagers would be on his tail the second he lay foot outside of his cave.

* * *

"...and so sin theta plus cos theta squared is equal to..." babbled the math teacher as Archie slumped in is chair. Aries had been particularly brutal to him in training that morning. The week had flown by too quickly. the weekend was already on them. Fridays were endurance days for Archie, when Aries would send waves of battle bots at Archie, making them gradually tougher each wave. Gods don't seem to understand the concept of breaks. It had left him exhausted for his grade 11 mathematics class as always. While he was laid back at the rear of the class, he could see the back of Atlanta's head as she sat at the front.

He stopped dozing off to admire her for a moment. Her hair was recently cut, and dyed in her usual red. It was wild, but also had a delicate touch to it, much like fire. He loved that about her.

The bell rang. Within a second the class was empty as per usual Friday afternoon. Class was over for the day, and nobody was waiting around. Archie caught up with Atlanta.

"Quite the workout this morning, I can't feel my shoulders right now."

She laughed, relived to not be talking about math. "Thats why I have my endurance days on Mondays. Wakes you right up. Hey, I was talking to Neil during lunch. He says there's a party up at Andrea's tonight. You gonna come?"

Archie remembered the last time he was at one of Andrea's parties. She was one of those rich kids whose parents were never around. There was always a crowd at her parties. The last time he was there several weeks ago, he had gotten piss drunk and fallen off the balcony into the pool. If he recalled, it hadn't been heated since the early autumn, and was very cold. It required a Jay and a Herry (both drunk) to drag him out. After that, he had barfed into some girl's vodka, and unsurprisingly, got him kicked out of the party.

"You sure she won't mind me coming along?" He asked.

Atlanta shrugged, "It's not like you're going to see her. There's going to be like two hundred people there."

Archie smiled, "Sure, I'll be there."

"You better be. I don't want to be sitting in the corner alone." She joked, "I need to go, but I'll catch you at home!"

And before he blinked, she was gone. He stopped to realize he had walked completely past his locker. As he was about to turn around, he heard a voice behind him.

"Frisky one, your friend." It was Lucas Jameson; Jock, charming smile, preppy English look but American born. Tall and lanky, but also a well respected athlete. More than Archie anyways. He had never really known the guy, although he seemed nice enough.

"You can call her that," Archie replied. He made it seem to appear relaxed, but he never trusted anyone outside of the team, regardless of reputation. The security came out in his tone slightly.

Lucas laughed cheerfully, "So Arch, you two coming to Andrea's?"

"Yeah why?"

"I was wondering if you want to introduce me to your friend. If that's alright with you."

Archie blushed, "Uhh, sure. Yeah. No problem."

Lucas gave him a pat on the back, "Thanks bud, see you there!" He seemed to disappear into the mob around him. That was the oddest thing he had seen all day. Archie had never known Lucas t be the uy to pay attention to Atlanta, or any of the team for matter of fact. There was nothing wrong with him, but still.

Archie sighed as he emptied his locker for the journey home. _Yeah? Sure? NO Problem? _Why did he say we would introduce him? Atlanta wouldn't fall for that. Would she?

Archie began to think asking her to prom wouldn't be as simple as he had anticipated. The aches in his shoulders suddenly didn't seem so bad.

* * *

A few things people need to know about Andrea's parties, is that they were spontaneous, loud, and full of drunk teenagers with varying levels of testosterone and estrogen. They were never dull. There was always a fight, or drama, or some very competitive beer pong games, but they only happened when the basketball team arrived, who were very good winners, and very sore losers.

It didn't seem any different that night as Odie walked in with Neil and Herry. The parties had begun to become fairly mainstream several months ago. Neil, of course was the first to get in the loop. He started to bring Herry, Theresa, and Odie. Neil always bragged that he would find Odie a smoking babe to hook up with, but he always got distracted with, well, the smoking hot babes. Odie didn't care. He would just have drunk conversations with people. Being a happy and extroverted drunk, people loved him. Herry was often found playing beer pong. The others joked that he had a fan club the way he played. He made a big scene, played very well, but never caused trouble. Theresa was that person who would walk all over the place and talk to everyone. She was also the notorious lightweight of the group, likely having something to do to her brains capabilities.

The four of them were welcome sights at the party, the fact that Herry had brought a keg may have helped. Andrea herself was delighted to see them and gave all of them hugs and dragged them into the basement to take vodka shots, the ones that tasted like orange and rasberry.. She herself was a very uninteresting person. The only reason the team talked to her at all were because of the parties. She had her own clique of friends made from football players and cheerleaders, whose combined IQ's wouldn't even match Herrys. They were just interested in parties. Even school didn't matter a whole lot to them. The footballers as usual began questioning the big guy about his workout routine and insisting he try out for the team if he came back next year. Herry had no plans on staying in the highschool after Cronus was dealt with, but he accepted the compliments regardless.

Jay, Archie and Atlanta showed up an hour later, when the most of the crowd was already in action and they could come in with less of an announcement. Jay required some convincing by Theresa to come for his first party. Reluctantly, he came to have probably one of the very few nights he would ever drink. Even still, he didn't always come, and he only did so that night because the others were all going.

Tonight was a good night to bring him. There was an abundance of people. This party was easily going to break the current record of a hundred and fifty people, if it hadn't already. Music was blaring from inside, and people were sprawled all over the gigantic house, including the balcony, where the three heroes found themselves. The weather had cleared up over the past few days and the stars were visible around a new moon. Summer was in the air. Even though it was faint, it was a warm welcome from the winter air.

Once they were in, Jay was called off to the drinks table for tequila shots, leaving the other two to fend for themselves. Jay was a rare sight, but that wasn't to say people didn't notice him. He was for a matter of fact, very cute in the eyes of the female population of the school, although he wouldn't have known any different, being so focused on Cronus, he had no experience with teenage relationships. The gils could have brought gigantic picket signs saying _I think you're cute_, and he would still miss it.

Amongst the crowd, Archie and Atlanta found their way to the bannisters of the balcony. He plucked out a metal canister from his backpack and opened it, having a small swig of strong whiskey. The taste was raw, and bitter in his mouth. Atlanta shared in the act after him.

"So, off to the corner? They all seem to be taken up already with naked people," Archie joked. Atlanta laughed while the whisky was in her mouth, sending a little up her nose. She hit him jokingly, although he wasn't wrong. Even though the night was early, someone had been found passed out and pants down, in Atlantas "favourite corner" as Archie called it because the last time she was here she just sat in that corner pretending she didn't know the drunken idiot who was also known as Archie.

"Fuck you." She laughed. The fumes of the whiskey were still in her nostrils, causing her nose to burn even more and her voice to be very squeamish. "Nah, I'm gonna find something to get rid of this sting. Promise me you won't do anything stupid while I'm gone" Archie's smile was good as any promise. And so she left and Archie was the one left by himself, and the whiskey canister.

_Well, then_, he thought, _bottoms up._


	4. Chapter 4

**A.N:** Thanks for the reviews guys! Keep them coming. I didn't really get a consensus for the chapter length, so I'm just going to go along with whatever feels right. Remember, stay tuned every sunday for a chapter!

**ACT ONE: Destruam**

**Chapter 04**

_Chapter theme: Reckless Abandon -Blink 182_

The brownstone was empty. Athena had left hours ago. The only sense of existence came from the humming of the lights in the kitchen and the pitter pattering of the resident mouse.

That quickly changed as the door flew open and in stomped Theresa, intoxicated and furious.

"I can't believe him!" She shouted at Atlanta, who quickly followed, closing the door behind her, "I mean- what was he thinking?"

"He's drunk. We all are." said Atlanta much more calmly, "he wouldn't do that in his right mind."

"Would he? He's sleeping over at her house for gods sakes. When has Jay ever done something that outrageous?"

"Let's just sleep on it Theresa. You've had a lot to drink and you're worn out."

"Worn out?" she replied, insulted, I saw you, you know. Lucas, he was talking you up."

Atlanta blushed. "It was nothing."

"Nothing? Atlanta, I saw him giving you your number. It's in your back pocket."

Defeated, Atlanta took the piece of paper from her pocket. The scribbled digits in blue ink gave Theresa all the evidence she needed.

"See Atlanta, don't tell me you haven't had someone on your mind tonight."

"What does this have to do with you being worn out?"

They were interrupted by the opening of the door. Herry and Odie were dragging a very pale Archie through the door.

"To the bathroom. Quick!" Rushed Herry as he helped Archie into the bathroom to empty his stomach contents. Theresa lay her forehead between her fingers.

"Tell me he didn't get in another fight."

"Can't say Archie behaved very well today." mentioned Odie, looking around, "Where's Jay? I thought he was with you guys."

"He decided to run off with his new 'girlfriend'. " muttered Theresa.

"Oh." He replied, "I think Neil's done something similar."

"Neil always does that, he's a fucking model. This is Jay we're talking about. It's so unlike him."

Odie looked at Theresa, almost smiling, "I think you're just pissed off because he hooked up with Sabrina."

"I am NOT!" She snapped instantly, "Now, before you guys start accusing me of anything else, I'm going to bed."

"Cheers!" Herry's voice hailed from the bathroom. Theresa drowsily and angrily walked up the stairs. Atlanta let out a large sigh, looking to Odie.

"How's Archie?"

"Besides vomitting? Fine, Biff didn't even get a chance to hit him."

"He promised me he wouldn't do anything like this."

"It did seem right out of the blue I do admit."

"Why would he pick a fight with Biff though? He's never talked to the guy."

"Beats me."

Herry walked in from the bathroom.

"He's almost done. You guys go get some sleep. I'll handle the rest."

Atlanta smiled, "Thanks Herry." The two of them left the hallway to their desperate rooms. Herry let out a big sigh. suddenly regretting his decision to stay up later. He turned and walked back into the bathroom, hoping that most of the puke was _in _the toilet.

* * *

The sun rose in Archie's room like and struck him like a needle in the eye. His head was throbbing and his memories were big fat blurs. Nonetheless, he dragged himself out of his bed and slowly worked his way to the bathroom. A cleanse later, his eyesight was fine, his reflection in the mirror showed a pale face with bloodshot eyes.

_Fuck, what happened last night?_ He remembered nothing after eight o clock that night. He dragged himself into his room to change, then dragged himself downstairs. As he plopped himself on the kitchen stool. A glass of bubbly water appeared. Looking up, he saw Athena smiling mischievously. She, as usual, had arrived a few hours earlier, the kitchen now smelled of scrambled eggs and the the toilet had been cleansed of Archies puke by the goddess of war. Archie wasn't sure how he was going to explain that one to his grandkids.

"Rough night?" She asked. Archie just nodded. Pointing to the glass, she said "That's tonic water. You'll feel a whole lot better after having that."

As he started drinking it, he asked "No godly formula to cure a hangover?"

Athena laughed hysterically, "Oh dear no. You just have to suck it up until it goes away."

Archie groaned and Athena chuckled. "What time is it?"

"Nine in the morning."

"What in the bloody hell am I doing up at this hour?"

Athena chuckled, "You forget you're the descendant of Achilles. I can recall that in the siege of Troy, he could be found working off of 2 hours of sleep a day for weeks, and you would never have known unless he told you. That hangover will be gone within half an hour Archie. You have some crazy heritage there."

Archie raise his eyebrows when he heard that, and continued to empty the glass. There had been cases where he need very little sleep to perform well, but he never acknowledged it to be his genes.

"Better?" She asked.

"Much." He replied.

She smiled. "Good. Now, I need to warn you guys. As of tomorrow, I'm not going to be around the brownstone for a while. The gods want me back at olympus, but I'm sure you guys are old enough to look after yourselves now."

Archie was surprised, "That short notice?"

"Hey, the family needs me." She smiled, "I'll make sure you guys have enough cash for groceries, but you guys can damn well get them yourselves now you're all old enough. You can't fight Cronus on an empty stomach"

Archie heard a creak behind him. In walked Jay with great big grin on his face. He was in the same clothes as he was last night. Archie figured he had been out the whole night.

"Archie! Surprised to see that you're awake!" Jay had quite a spring in his step and his voice was unusually dynamic.

"Me too."

Jay walked over to the fridge, poured some orange juice, and sat down beside Archie.

"So wait, where were you last night if you weren't here?"

Jay laughed. "You don't remember much do you?"

"That's an understatement." Something was off. Archie hadn't seen Jay this relaxed since the formation of the group. Something was going on.

"Well, I guess I'll explain a few things. You got in a fight with Biff-"

"Biff? The quarterback? Why did I get in a fight with Biff?"

"No idea. Besides that, nothing more than the usual shenanigans. Well, actually, I hooked up with Sabrina last night. I'm- well, really into her."

"Really?" _That was surprising_, " I didn't really think she was your type."

"Neither did I, I caught her looking at me. We talked a bit, and well, it just kinda happened."

Archie realized what had gotten Jay so cheerful. "You slept with her didn't you?"

Jay paused, biting his lip, the looked at Archie and smirked. Archie chuckled, knowing the answer.

"Not actually no. We're uh seeing a movie in a few days actually. If it goes well, I think I might ask her to prom."

"You know, I'm no genius, but I do recall that the girls don't like Sabrina very much."

Jay shrugged," So what? It's not like she's becoming a part of the team or anything. Now, I'm not sure about you, but I'm itching to let off some energy. You in for a trip to the gym?"

Archie was already feeling better. _I should not underestimate the healing stuff in my genes_. "Hell yes."

The two of them walked of to the school in their tracksuit pants and warm hoodies. The city streets seemed almost empty.

"So I picked a fight with Biff, the quarterback with three scholarships to university teams?"

"He hardly laid a finger on you. I didn't expect anything less from you. The question is, why did you do it?"

"If I knew, I wouldn't be worrying about it. It's strange, I don't remember anything, except feeling really angry. Like, something had seriously pissed me off."

"That might do it, but what was it?"

"What's the point in asking? I don't remember anyways and you were, well, distracted." Arhcie shrugged, " Shit happens."

"Well said."

The boys arrived the school, and disappeared behind the revolving glass doors.

* * *

Monday was upon them before they knew it. The team dragged themselves through the past two days with hangovers. It was the first time a Monday could possibly be looked forward to.

Regardless, the team was exhausted from a long morning of exercises. Ares had been tougher than usual. Endurance days were always a pain.

Jay sat down in his history class. As he put his textbook on his table, in walked Theresa. They shared the class and usually sat beside each other, but she gave Jay one look and proceeded to the far end of the classroom.

Since the party, Theresa hadn't even talked to Jay. She seemed seriously angered by Jay's new thing with Sabrina. _She needs to suck it up._ Jay told himself. _Its not my problem if she can't suck up her pride and let things be._ Jay had no explanation for the sourness between the two of them.

The teacher was talking about the theory of evolution and the origin of tools. Exciting stuff, if you didn't realize you were sitting on top of the Greek God's' refuge.

As class droned on, Jay began to hear a strange noise. It was the noise you hear after listening to loud music for a while. A faint ringing.

Jay had not forgotten where he had last heard it. He looked over to where Theresa was sitting. She was sound asleep, much like she had been when she was screaming in his head. She had mental training on Monday mornings with Persephone. No doubt it was mentally exhausting.

As the class went on, the noise started to get louder. Nobody else seemed to notice it. It was like her unconscious mind was, well, targeting him. It could have been because she was angry with him, but that didn't explain why it happened before a few days ago. The noise got louder, and louder, and louder. It pierced his mind like a wasp sting. He suddenly felt nauseous. He instantly stood up and left for the bathroom. The teacher stopped his lecture. Not wanting any vomit in his class, the teacher said nothing and allowed Jay to leave, although he was getting a few strange looks.

As he rushed between the isles, he brushed past Theresas ear with his belt. She woke up to see what had awoken her, but Jay was too much in a rush to notice. The nausea almost instantly fell away and the headache reduced, but Jay rushed anyways. The ringing was forcing his head to throb like an elephants heart. He needed water. _What is going on with Theresa? Why is this happening all of a sudden?_

Splashing the cool water into his face removed the lingering headache. He looked up into the mirror. The eyebags below his eyes were slightly smaller than usual. Maybe it was because he let off so much steam the other night. Either way, there was more colour in his face. He smiled slightly. It had been a long time since he saw himself smile.

His phone vibrated, distracting him from the mirror. He picked the blue phone out of his pocket. With one look at the screen, The relaxed look in his eyes was replaced by determination and discipline. His slouched eyebrows became hard as concrete and he flew open the door of the bathroom, and walked quickly to the Janitor's closet.

* * *

"Cronus has been sighted on an island out off the coast of Somalia." Jay's voice bellowed in Hera's office, the team all assembled. "He's not alone. His giant is with him, along with an unknown individual."

"Sounds like business as usual," said Atlanta, "Find Cronus, kick his butt, then stop whatever plot he has come up with this time."

"It's not as simple as that this time." Came a voice from behind. Hermes floated up, his leather straps on his helmet dangling humorously, "I've looked into this island a bit more. It appears that it is a massive hub for the local pirate gangs. Its going to be more dangerous. I don't think they'll appreciate you roaming around there."

"Then we'll be careful." said Jay, "Hermes, get the portal ready."

Hermes paused awkwardly,

"I'm afraid the portal's broken right now."

A confused look came across the team.

"Broken, how can a magical portal be broken?"

Hermes chuckled, "Uh, well, Hephaestus said he found a way to make it more accurate at pinpointing coordinates in less well traveled areas, and it- well, backfired. Sorry Jay. Won't be fixed for a few days."

Jay grunted. "Fine, if we can't teleport there, we'll do it the old fashioned way. Odie, warm up the jet. Everyone else, gear up. It's going to be a long night."


	5. Chapter 5

**Authors Note:**

Sincere apologies for the late upload, I have been out of power for 36 hours. Gotta love Canadian weather.

Now this is one hell of a chapter. I am going to be away next week so I will not be around for uploading chapter six, so I kind of just instituted it into this one. This should keep you hungry readers fed for Christmas.

Speaking of which, Happy Christmas/Holidays! Here is my gift to you. A vacation. I am taking you t a remote island off the coast of East Africa where there are sunny beaches, beautiful shipwrecks and ruins to explore, and best of all; pirates! What is a christmas vacation without some somali pirates to kidnap you and ransom you for money? Sounds like a great deal to me! Come and join the COTT team on this fantastic vacation!

**ACT ONE: Destruam**

**Chapter 05**

_Chapter Theme: The full __Far Cry 3 Soundtrack. (Give it a listen as you read! It has no lyrics and gets you in an epic adventure mood! I recommend the hour long versions as they last a while.)_

It was around 10 at night. The sky was cloudy, but the moon was full and shone on the subtropical island. On the island, there was a small outpost on the beach with a few pirates, high on several drugs, had fun with their latest catches; two young girls who had sailed into open water, unaware of the dangers that these seas held. They were one outpost of several dozen on the small island. The beaches were mostly rocky with a few sand beaches, and one old, aged mountain that loomed over the sea with its three peaks. Campfires from the outposts shone from above lie stars. Little did these pirates below know, that far above them, a black ghost lurked.

The jet was silent and fast. They had travelled in what should have taken half a day, in the matter of two hours. The team strapped in gear, and black clothing, sat in the rear as Odie piloted the plane, also clad in black. Jay walked up to the cockpit. His gear was like all the others. Black clothing that hugged his body tightly, and a parachute was strapped to his back. Along his belt were several tools and gadgets, including his concealable xiphos.

"What's the story?" He asked.

Odie replied; "Well, there's no way of them detecting us from up here, that's for sure. It seems that the pirates here are most concentrated on the west shore, but there's no where to land the plane without getting unwanted attention."

"We could clear you a small area."

"I can see a few good spots. The pirates won't know what hit them," Odie said almost cheerfully, "Scans show that the island is littered with tunnels. Many patterns look like ruins of some kind. I bet we'll find Cronus there." A map of the tunnels appeared on a small HUD. Jay pointed to one area on the south east side, where al the tunnels seemed to branch out from.

"There appears to be an entrance there. That looks like our ticket in."

"There's an outpost on the beach right there. If you take it out, I could land in that clearing next to it."

Jay nodded. There was likely to be armed pirates there and the team had no guns. They would need to figure a way to take them out, preferably without violence.

"We're almost in the drop zone. If guys want to go, you need to do it _now_."

Jay walked into the hangar area, where the team was waiting for his instructions. All eyes were on him, awaiting instructions from the leader.

"All right. We're dropping in, we need to take out an outpost on the beach so Odie can land." He looked to Archie and Atlanta. Archie was equipped with his metallic whip, and Atlanta held a deadly, and expensive recurve bow made for carbon fibre over her shoulder. _If things get real hairy, those two could deal a lot of damage,_ he thought.

Opening the rear hatch, the warm wind rushed into the air-conditioned plane. Odie was signalling that they were over the drop zone. Jay turned to the team, standing up behind him. "Let's go!"

Archie and Atlanta jumped first, followed by Herry, Neil and Theresa. Jay looked to Odie nodded and leaped out of the plane.

The wind on his face was overwhelming. He could hardly see a thing until the clouds opened up. Below him he could see five tiny dots descending. The island seemed small from so high up, but it got larger, and larger and larger. Jay began to realize the massive size of this island. It was easily 18 hectares in size and covered in dense jungle cover. Small lights could be seen; campfires that were miles apart. This island had sparse inhabitants. There were some lights that appeared to be coming from electric lights on the west side. _Pirates will be most concentrated there, best to avoid it._

At around 3000 metres up, and almost as many miles per hour he pulled the strings on his backpack. It exploded into a black umbrella like parachute, slowing his accelerated descent. Jay aimed his landing zone for where the other black umbrellas had landed or were landing; on the beach, behind a small headland of the campfire very close to the desired cave entrance.

Now that he had slowed down, Jay could survey the island much easier. On the beaches, you could easily see several wrecked ships. Some had looked like they had been there for a few hours, washed up on the high tide. Others looked like they hadn't been touched in years. This area was in the heartland of piracy in the Indian Ocean. Most sailors avoided it at all costs, but there were always a few, either too brave or stupid, or both, who found their way into this dangerous part of the ocean. Many of them never came back, or did for a price.

Jay descended smoothly into the water, which broke the last of his fall. The water was warm, even at night. _I wish the New Olympia water was this warm. _When his head emerged on the surface, he saw several figures on the beach. They were the rest of the team. He swam over, dragging the parachute with him. He walked onto the beach, dripping wet, signalling the others to make for the bushes. They took into the dense cover.

"Alright." sighed Jay as he recovered his breath from the swim and jump. "We're all here?"

"All accounted for." said Herry, "What's the plan now?"

"There's an outpost on the far side of that headland. Lets investigate and keep it quiet. We don't want the pirates attention."

"Hold on." Theresa's voice came from behind. Jay, while he wouldn't admit it, was glad to hear her voice after these past few days. 'We should make sure the parachutes are well hidden."

"Good idea. That first, then check out the outpost." he replied.

The team approached the outpost from the headland. They had ample cover in the bushes, and had a great view of the outpost, which consisted mostly of a rusty old building and a pier on the beach..

"I see around three pirates. There are probably more in that shack over there." said Atlanta, pointing to the structure hardly worth calling a building.

"Theresa, what do you sense?" Jay asked. She shut her eyes for a second, opening them just as quickly.

"There are two other people in that shack, but they don't have weapons. I think they might be prisoners."

"Not for long." muttered Herry, cracking his knuckles, Jay put his hand out in front of him.

"No. Going right in might raise an alarm, attracting more attention. We can't have that."

"Me and Atlanta can take them." said Archie. The team looked to the two of them.

Jay frowned. "There's four more of us here. Why send just two in?"

"Strength in numbers won't work here. We need to take them out quickly and quietly. Archie and I have trained for this Jay. Let us handle this.

He grunted. "Fine. But for the love of the gods be careful."

Archie smiled. "Jay, you can count on us, " Grasping Atlanta's shoulder, "Let's go. We'll give you guys an all clear."

They disappeared into the bush silently. It was like they had become ghosts.

"Just the two of them? There's all of us here. How is this helping?" asked Neil flamboyantly.

"Save your energy Neil. We're going to need it when we get in those caves." replied Jay. Neil frustratingly refrained from talking any more.

Herry whispered, "I hope you know what you're doing."

"Yeah," said Jay, "Me too."

* * *

Archie and Atlanta sneaked up from behind the rusty shack, able to see the pirates. One was outside the door of the shack, one was by a smoky fire and the other was on the small wooden pier beside a heap of an old boat. Looking back, Archie whispered to Atlanta. The perimeter was guarded by rusty fencing on the jungle side, hiding the two teenagers.

"Alright, 'lana, do you trust me?"

She blinked confusingly, "Of course Archie. What do you need me to do?"

He looked out through the gap in the fence, came back and sighed. "You see that pirate on the pier? I will need you to shoot him with your bow."

"What? Kill him? I thought we were going to just knock them out or something." She replied in a surprised tone.

"How? We can't knock all three out like that. Not without alerting at least one and giving him enough time to shoot us. I'll handle the other two. The second I go in, I need you to shoot him. You're the best shot out I've ever seen. You can do it."

"Archie, I can't kill another person."

"If you don't shoot that man, he's going to shoot me and many others. He's a pirate. What worth is his life? I need you to do this. He'll sound an alarm, shoot me or both if you don't."

Reluctantly, Atlanta nodded. She took her bow out and notched an arrow. The fletching was a beautiful blend of lime green and blood red, and the arrowhead was Hephaestus steel, designed for a quick, decisive kill.

"Wait for me to get in with the other two, then shoot. Just shoot, think of nothing except shooting." he told her. He then, from the crouch, leaped onto the tin roof seamlessly and silently. Atlanta rushed to a hole in the fence where she had a clear shot. Her hands and face were sweating, her hands shaking.

She could see Archie approach the man by the door from right above. Knowing it was almost time, she drew her arrow back, and lined her shot with the unwary man on the pier. He was a skinny, black, man who didn't look any older than 30. He wore a baggy, sleeveless grey shirt, and held a beaten up AK47. He was clearly on the lookout for ships. The moonlight was so bright; you could see anything for miles even at this time of night.

Archie had taken out his whip, his hand on the button. He waited a moment, then jumped from the roof to the ground, right behind the man closest the building, grabbed him by the neck, pushed the whip holster behind his back and pressed the button. The whip tore right through his heart, spewing out a fountain of blood as the hooked end flew out of the fountain like some kind of bullet. Archie then, reached for the knife in the man's holster, grabbed it, and threw it perfectly into the neck of the man at the campfire. The man let out an agonizing scream as he fell and bled out in a matter of seconds. Atlanta's aim was still on the last man, but she hesitated for a second. She couldn't do it. The last man turned around with an "OH FUCK!" As he raised his gun, Atlanta knew it was now or never. She drew her breath, closed her eyes, and let go of the string.

No gunshots were heard. She opened her eyes and saw the man lying with his blood soaking the wooden planks on the pier. An arrow in his left eye socket. She just stared at him, a hundred yards away.

"Oh my god." she shrieked. "I- I killed him."

Archie came over to her. "Like I said, best shot I've ever seen."

She stood up, shaky and panting. Archie realized now was not the time to compliment her shot.

He spoke quietly and comfortingly; "You did what you had to. He would have killed both of us if he had the chance."

She nodded, and took a deep breath, and walked into the open. Archie signalled the all clear to the others, and they walked in cautiously.

"Holy shit. You killed them." said Herry who looked a little sick at the sight of the bodies. His voice implied both awe and horror.

Archie smiled triumphantly while Atlanta continued to look at the bodies, which had been moving around freely only moments ago. Looking to her, Archie nudged her gently. Her gaze left the bodies and to Archie's confident eyes.

His confidence was met with anger, "Do you not feel anything? You just killed two men." her voice was full of disgust.

"I wouldn't call them men. They were scum. Pirates Atlanta. They deserved to die, and they were also in our way."

"They had families to feed-,"

"Archie is right," Jay cut between them; he was not interested in an argument at the current time. Atlanta caught a look in his eye that said '_you can talk about this later'_. "If our mission fails, there will be a lot more blood on our hands."

Jay left to give Odie the all clear. The others stood by the outpost. From the tin building, there was a faint noise coming from inside. It sounded like voices.

"I think there's someone in there." said Neil.

Herry didn't need to be asked. With one solid knock, the door crashed down creating a cloud of dust. Stepping in, he could hear a faint whimper. As he stepped through the mist, he saw two women, tied up in rope and duct tape, lying with their stomachs to the ground. There was blood and dirt all over their ripped and filthy clothes. Herry and Neil rushed to untie them.

At first, the untied girls lay still, until one turned around and grabbed some rags from the corner to cover herself up where her blouse had been ripped completely off. Herry gave her a hand up. Neil helped with the other. They both seemed to be in their early 20s. They looked like they could have been sisters.

"Are you guys ok?" Herry asked.

"Yes. Yes. Thank you." The taller one said in a thick South African accent, hugging him tightly, with tears streaming down her face.

"How did you guys get here?"

"Pirates boarded our boat and took us." She said, looking around, desperately, "They wanted out father to pay ransom. He is a very rich man , we were in Kenya at our family resort - and we went sailing. I thought we were going to die here until you guys showed up. Did my dad send you? Do you have a way off this island?"

Herry paused before telling them.

"I'll be right back." He ran out to see Jay.

"The pirates were holding two girls hostage," said Herry, "We need to get them off the island. We should bring them with us."

On queue, the sound of the black jet over them caught their attention as the jet flew over and landed in the clearing behind the trees.

"There isn't any room on the jet." said Theresa.

"They can have my seat. I'll sit on the ground if I have to."

Jay was looking at him. "Let me see them."

Herry lead him into the shack. Theresa watched from outside as he disappeared into the dark building. Odie appeared from out of the trees, walking over to her.

"Talk about a smooth landing! I could get used to that thing. Who needs a portal when you have a jet!" He joked, he realised that Theresa wasn't smiling, and then ceased to talk.

"What is with him Odie?"

"With who?"

"Jay, of course. He's been so-, unpredictable."

"Are you still mad about him and Sabrina?"

"What? No. I-"

"Theresa, it's fine. It's me."

Theresa held her breath for a moment, than let out a sad sigh.

"I just can't believe he would fall for something like that." She said "I mean, I've known him for two years now. What would make him-?"

"Did you ever tell him?"

"Tell him what?"

"You know exactly what."

She paused before replying.

"No. But what's your point?"

"Not everyone can read minds like you. Maybe you should talk to him about it."

That seemed to make her laugh a little, "Oh I see, only when he has a girlfriend do I tell him. If I tell him now, things would only get worse for the team."

"Odie shrugged, " It may be better than saying nothing. I'm just saying," Theresa was clearly not buying the advice, so Odie quickly changed the subject, "So what is he doing in there?"

"Herry found some pirate hostages and he wants to bring them back home. I told him we don't have room."

Frowning, Odie replied, "We have plenty of room. Why the hell did you say that?"

Looking down she sighed, "I don't know, I guess I just felt like- saying something. I don't know why I said it, I just did. I know I know, it was stupid."

Odie frowned even more.

"What do you think Odie?" asked Theresa, "You don't think he's 'bewitched' or something?"

Odie shook his head, "Jay is showing no symptoms of bewitchment. I think he's just trying to be-, well, normal. The war has been tougher on him than it has been for us. He just needed a release."

"Well, he certainly could have done a better job."

"I'm not going to comment on that."

"I know you agree Odie, I can read our mind."

Odie paused, "I MIGHT agree with you, but that's not important. Jay saw a chance to be a normal teenager, and he took it. He might be jumping the gun a bit, that's all. None of us are going to have normal lives until Cronus is gone."

The boys exited the shack with the two girls in their arms. They looked pale, bruised and bloodied, like they hadn't eaten or drank in days. Theresa went almost as pale as them. They were two very attractive women, she guessed, if you cleaned them up and put them in a nice dress. She shuddered to think what those pirates had done to them.

Jay lent one into Herry, "Get them on the jet and tell them to stay quiet and hidden. We shouldn't be too long." Herry and Neil proceeded to bring the girls into the woods, where the jet lay hidden. The others formed a circle around Jay.

"Alright guys, we're about to go in. Archie, Atlanta, good job on clearing the outpost. There were a few strings attached there but you got it done."

Archie smiled triumphantly, but Atlanta didn't smile at all. She just stared at the ground, nore specifically the body of the man she just killed.

"Anyways, we don't know what to expect in these tunnels. Cronus may have set many traps, and there is no knowing if he is expecting us. Stick together, and be ready. Lets move out."

* * *

Herry and Neil rendezvoused at the cave entrance. The girls were well hidden in the plane. jerry had promised the would be back soon. As they looked at the clifffside, they saw that the area was littered with mossy old ruins and overgrown vegetation. They weren't just entering any old cave. These were old ruins. Very ancient ones. The architecture implied they could have been thousands of years old. Older than any greek site they had ever visited. The entrance was om the cliffside; a large mosaic wall of moss and old pillars and the small square entrance at the bottom centre was hardly big enough for Herry to fit almost looked like the Petra on the deserts of the middle east.

With a nod, the team proceeded in through the entrance. Herry and Jay led, followed by Neil, Odie, Archie, Atlanta, and finally, Theresa. As she went through the small entrance, she felt a tingling sensation down her spine, like someone had placed ice on the back of her neck. Someone was here, and it wasn't Cronus, or his counterpart Agnon. Their presence was here too, but there was another, stronger and colder scent that she had picked up.

_They said Cronus was with someone else, besides the giant. It must be them._ She thought, realizing that figure may be more dangerous than expected. Only dangerous things made her feel so edgy.

A sudden fiery warmth brought her back to reality. Herry had picked up a flaming torch, and he was leading further into the ruins. She rushed to keep up.

The flaming torch became the only sign on light as they delved deeper and away from the moonlight. The ruin consisted of long, stone bricked hallways, covered in moss. They were damp and cold too. Theresa didn't like it. She was trying to sense he mysterious figure, but the damp atmosphere and cold temperatures were distracting her senses.

The gang eventually stopped. When she looked up, she saw that they had reached a fork in the road. There were three path ways. Each as dark and damp as the other. The middle one went straight, the left went down and the right went up. Jay turned back.

"Theresa, you're up. Which one leads us to Cronus?"

She stepped forward in front of the others. Taking a deep breath, she took her time to focus on what she sensed. Sensing these days came as easily to her as breathing. The visions came to her like they always did, suddenly and shock-like.

_Three pathways. Cronus can be sensed at the core of the ruins. Deeper, but accessible from where we are. Intuition says go left where path leads down. It's a trap. Faulty bricks trigger the ground to fall into a pit of spikes. A dead end follows. Straight on provides an open cavern. There is a bridge over and underground river. Very faulty. Likely to break, but path is clear to Cronus afterwards. Right goes up at first for a while, but then proceeds down safely into far side of cavern, avoiding faulty bridge. No, there is something to the right. Black trenchcoat, cheeky grin, cold eyes open suddenly. Looking at me-._

She opened her eyes, coming to terms with reality again. The mysterious man was to the right. It was definitely a man. No monster had eyes that eloquently sharp. She could practically smell him. However, it felt like he was sensing her too. The chill went back down her spine. _Another telepath? With Cronus as well?_ That was a recipe for disaster. She knew that the right path would be too dangerous. _Was it more dangerous than the bridge though?_

"Straight." She replied decisively. At least she knew what to expect from the straight path. The others instinctively began trekking into the straight hallway. Taking a deep breath, she followed, praying to Zeus that the bridge would hold.

As they continued, a light appeared at the end of the tunnel. As it got larger, it was clearly moonlight. The light evolved into the opening that Theresa had forseen. The area was open and full of fresh air. There was no roof to this area, and it looked like they had walked into a hole in the ground. High above them, trees could be seen covering the edges of the black cliffs protecting the basin from erosion with their thick roots. A waterfall fell into the hole from the side, creating a turbulent river around 30 metres below them. They could see that there was no way up from the river, even if someone managed to fight the current. It would have been a one-way trip down the side of the stony protrusion they were standing on. On the far side of the opening, a large platform led to two doors: One on either side of this massive mural that took up a delicate portion of the cliff. The one on the right was clearly where the right passage would have taken them. O the massive stone wall was an image of a long necked bird, what would probably be a crane, except it was on fire. Beside it were two men standing on either side of it. Between the two platforms however, was rickety wooden bridge. Many planks had already fallen off and the survivors were rotten and mossy.

"I don't like the look of that bridge," muttered Neil.

Atlanta replied with "Well, its the only way across."

Jay went up and examined the bridge, "we will have to take off any excess weight, and start with the lightest first."

A sigh came from Atlanta. She dropped her backpack and her bow, as she stepped up to the side of the platform.

"Anything we can use as a harness?" she asked. She saw Odie open his bag and take out some rope. It wasn't exactly the strongest rope she had ever seen, but it would have to do. Atlanta wrapped the rope around her waist, gulped and carefully took a step onto the first plank. The creaking was painful to her ears and her heart was beating like a conga drum. However, the plank held her weight. She dispersed it carefully over the rope handles and planks as she slowly and painstakingly, slowly crossed the bridge. She eventually reached the stony far side, untied herself and threw the rope over the chasm to Odie, the next poor soul to cross.

One by one, each member of the team crossed successfully, until the last one was Herry; the heaviest. At first, he used his strength to hurl all of the bags over the chasm like they were tennis balls being used for shot put, and then he attached the rope to himself. With all the equipment over, he was that last piece of cargo to cross. The bridge had already lost a plank when Odie crossed, and another when Archie crossed. There was no way of knowing if it would take his weight. He took a deep breath and stepped on.

Herry slowly proceeded slowly across. The planks were seriously creaking under his weight and he was sweating like a pig. The rope may have kept together for the others, but he didn't trust it one bit for someone of his weight. He was four steps away, when the one plank bearing his rear leg gave way. Herry's reaction was pure panick. He began to tumble through, and Jay was leaping to reach him, and the others staring in horror as their friend fell.

All of a sudden, everything began to fall in slow motion including Herry. Everyone was concious, but there seemed to be a bubble of reduced gravity around where Herry was falling. Knowing this was his only chance, Herry used the slow moving plank as a leg up and jumped, reaching for Jay's outstretched hand. Gripping tightly, and grunting, Jay hauled Herry up onto the rocky safety of the clifftop.

They all gasped for air, adrenaline pumping through their veins. Theresa was frozen with her arms stretched out. Breathing heavily. Her eyes were a disturbing purple glow.

"Thanks, Theresa. " Said Herry. "You okay?"

She moved her head suddenly, like snapping out of a trance. Her eyes returned to normal and the planks began to tumble down into the river at normal speed. She nodded shakily. Breathing deeply and loudly.

"Well, we're not getting back that way, " commented Odie, looking at the fifty foot gap of where the bridge once was.

"We'll cross that bridge when we get to it, " said Jay, "Everyone focus. Cronus should be close by."

The team armed themselves, and proceeded through the door, abandoning the exinguished torch. Theresa looked to the far door, wary of the shadow figure. She knew he was watching them.

The door opened up into a dark, massive room. Stairs lead down to a ring of large stone pillars supporting the high ceiling. One small hole on the ceiling brought illumination to the area within the ring. Within was a stone table, a man in a suit, and a giant.

"CRONUS!" Jay's voice bellowed as they all approached the ring. In their black clothing, the only thing that could be seen was the shine of Jays xiphos and Archies whip. Cronus didn't really need more thanthat to know who it was

"Fascinating architecture, isn't it?" Cronus voice echoed within the room, "I believe it was around six thousand BC. Oh, but you mortals wouldn't have any records dating that far back. Nobody has seen the Marvels hidden here for four thousand years, until today."

"Enough talking Cronus, what are you doing here?"

"Ha! Like I'm going to tell you. When was the last time telling you anything helped me?"

_Incredible. He's actually learned something._

"Maybe we'll kill you quickly if you tell us." smiled Archie.

Cronus picked up a large stone the size of a frisbee. The surface was carved as a marble crescent moon with a hexagonal base below it. It was covered in detailed carvings, bearing a massive blue sapphire in the center. When he turned to them, they could see a large hole was in the middle of the table, where the artefact had been a minute ago.

"Come along Agnon, we're leaving."

"Like hell you are," grunted Archie. Cronus smiled, slowly nodded, and opened up his scythe.

All of a sudden, Archie found himself in a headlock. He rolled forward, knocking the figure off of his back and in front of him.

Theresa felt the feeling of danger much more strongly. It was the mysterious man all right, and he was fighting Archie. The man recovered from the roll, releasing Archie, and jumped up ready to fight, as did Archie. They were both clad I black like two invisible demons gearing up for a fight. The others were behind him.

"I have this! Get Cronus." yelled Archie, readying his Hephaestus whip it seemed to glow a faint blue in the eerie moonlight.

The team rushed without hesitation towards Cronus. With Archie busy however, they lacked a key portion of their fighting strength, and Cronus kept them at bay by parrying with his scythe. He was playing defensively. Cronus held the stone to his heart. Agnon shielded Cronus's rear from Theresa and Odie, who persistently went at them with attacks with nun chucks and a titanium spear.

Meanwhile, across the room, Archie and the mysterious man sized each other up. Archie could see that the figure was armed with two forearm length knives, sharp enough to slice through anything. He needed to be careful. Archie made the first blow. The figure was quick though and dodged his whip. Archie tried again, whipping it sideways. The figure ducked, and the whip struck out a chunk the rock behind him. It was it's turn now. It lunged at him with the barbed knives out, but Archie was prepared for him. He dodged to the side as the man stuck his landing and swiped it against it's cheek. A tiny streak of blood appeared on Archies cheek. No damage was done, it just made him angry.

Cronus continued to defend himself, trying to wait for his henchman, but the team was relentless and his only hope was that he had to make a run for his portal. When he saw the fight across the room, he concluded that there was no time left. With a burst of dark energy, he knocked away the team, giving him just enough time for him and Agnon to escape though a quickly made portal. Jay ran for the portal, but it closed shut before he could even get close.

The figure paused to see Cronus leaving. He made a burst for the closing portal, but Archie was right behind him. Hugging his arms around the waist, Archie plunged the man into the grey rocky ground. The knives were knocked several feet away, and the man was knocked breathless. But Archie's battle adrenaline was kicking. He had won the fight, but he had lost sense of anything but his target. He leaped onto the man, fists raised, and with just two hits, he began to draw blood. He didn't stop. He kept swinging down on his unarmed opponent. Again, and again. His blood was on fire. He didn't feel the cold moist air around him, or the cuts on his body. He just hit him. And hit him. And hit him.

_Archie..._

Whispered a little voice in his head.

"ARCHIE!"

Atlanta's scream pierced his ears, paralysing him for a second. Within the second Herry had shoved him over from the man. The fire in his blood moulted away, he could see peripherally again. The team was grouped around the man. All except for Atlanta, who stared horrifically at him. Archie got up slowly and approached the circle. Jay was fuming.

"Archie. What the fuck were you thinking? You had him beat. He was unarmed and you downright nearly killed him!"

Archie was speechless. He wanted to say he didn't mean to, but the words just never came out. He simply swallowed. Atlanta had a look of complete disgust.

When he saw the face, Archie went pale. There was severe bruising, swelling, and bleeding. Even with him unhooded, the man was unrecognizable. Neil and Jay were bandaging him up. The man just groaned.

He spoke to Jay. "Why are you helping me?" His voice was weak and mumbled from the swelling.

"You may be with Cronus, but you have answers I need." He said sternly. "Come on. Olympus will have a better facility to treat him."

"No..." He muttered. "Olympus. Don't take me there."

The others frowned in confusion.

"K-keep me away from the gods, and I will tell you everything you need to know."

"And if we hand you in?"

"You'll be handing in a dead body."

That seemed quite extreme.

Jay asked, "What do you have against the gods?"

"My grudges are my business. You have the option of handing me in and getting nothing, or keeping me from them and getting everything I know."

"Everything?"

"Everything I know."

* * *

The team found their way out safely. Herry carried them man ont the jet and Odie administered first aid using soe of the equipment on the jet. Dionysus had equipped them with some all healing potons, which was quickly rejuvenating his wounds. Atlanta and Archie lagged behind. As they stepped into the moonlight of the opening, Atlanta suddenly turned around facing Archie.

"What was that back there Archie. You nearly killed our greatest chance at getting Cronus since the Grae sisters!"

"I-I don't know. I just got a little carried-"

"Carried away? Is that how you explain nearly killing an unarmed man? What is happening to you Archie? First there was the fight at the party, then the men in the outpost. now this? Whats next, you're going to kill one of us?"

"Hey hold on just a minute Atlant-"

"I can't believe you made me kill someone today." She turned away furiously before Archie could even say a word.

The jet was gearing up and the sun was going to rise soon. The pirates would see the jet in broad daylight, and that would spark problems. It was time to go. Archie was the last to board. Atlanta was on the far end near the cockpit, so he decided to keep his distance and claim the seat closest to the door. The jet escaped into the early morning like an owl silently swooping from its nest.


	6. Chapter 6

**Authors Note:** I am happy to see how much people enjoyed the previous chapter. yes it is quite a bit darker than what we are used to on this fandom, but I am quite happy with how its going so far. I'm trying to put the heroes in a light that makes them more like us. They may have great capabilities, but in they end, they are a bunch of teenagers. Human teenagers

And human teenagers make mistakes.

**Walls of Bricks**

**ACT ONE: Destruam**

**Chapter 06**

_Chapter Theme: Winter is Coming -Ramin Djawadi (Good game of thrones soundtrack!)_

It was well into the early morning and the sun was going to rise in only a few hours. The team snuck into the brownstone with a man with a bag over his head. Luckily the streets were clean of any suspicious eyes, being such an ungodly hour.. They quietly shut the door behind them and together, dragged the man downstairs. Jay turned on the lights surveying the empty house.

"With Athena gone the secret room should be vacated. Its as good a place as any to put him." He told the team. Herry took the signal and pushed the washing machine away from the wall. With another push, the wall behind clicked, and withdrew into the plaster beside it, revealing a poorly lit brick room. Athena had moved out all of her stuff, leaving the walls bare and boring. Even Aegis had been taken from the room.

From where a massive battle-axe used to hang, was a gigantic olympian steel hoop. It was just high enough to place the mans rope bound hands, leaving him hanging, with his butt barely touching the floor, and with his feet also tied to another hook on the floor, he certainly wasn't going anywhere.

With a nod from Jay, Odie removed the bag from his head. The elixir that he was administered had done an improvement on his face, although he was still bruised on his cheeks and forehead. The blood that had been dropping from his nose had dried into a dark red-brown colour. In the light, they could finally see his features. The man was pale. His long, side swept hair was a brilliant black with blue streaks, with a full soul patch on his chin, and matured, dark stubble. The man could not have been more than 8 years older than them. He was clearly in his high twenties, with cold eyes looking darkly at the team. For a moment, the team didn't say a word. The terrifying look in his eyes almost made them forget he was their prisoner. However, you would have to be an idiot to think that Jay was scared.

"Alright." Said Jay. He had crossed his arms, looking sternly at the man. "Away from the gods, just you, and us. We filled our part of the bargain, now its time to fulfill your end."

The man just huffed, "Away from the gods? Do you think I'm an idiot? I know exactly where we are. I am not safe from the gods here."

"Its this place, or Olympus." Said Jay sternly. "You're between a rock and a hard place. I don't think you're in a position to complain. We could just hand you over to Zeus."

"Like I said, I won't answer to Zeus. I will be dead before you get me out of this room. And why is it do you make him sound so Glorious? You sounded like a bloody fanboy when you said his name."

"He is the king of the gods and the world. Maybe you should have more respect"

"Thats exactly what he wants you to think. He's a power hungry, selfish bastard, just like the rest of them."

The cracking of knuckles was heard from Herry's side of the room. "I'd watch your words, buddy."

The man just smiled slyly. Looking at Jay the whole time. Jay's face didn't move a muscle from the cold, lean stare he was giving. _I am not afraid of you buddy._ Thought Jay.

His thought was surprisingly answered. _It's not me you should be a afraid of._ A voice whispered in his ears. It was the mans, yet his mouth did not move. His eyes just stared at him, unblinkingly. Jay shook off the stare, ignoring the strange voice in his head.

"Well, seeing as you know so much about the gods, tell me. What other propaganda did Cronus use on you?"

"None, apart from a few things about you guys. You know, mission briefings and all. He gave me a dossier on each of you. Quite detailed, talking about your pasts, strengths, weaknesses, and of course, fighting style." He eyed up the team with his cold eyes. Each one seemed to look uneasy as he looked at them, except for Jay. "As for the gods, well, that's a little more personal. We have a, past."

"Bullshit," called out Archie, "How would someone like you know about the gods?"

"Why else would I join Cronus?"

"I don't know Archie," came the voice of Theresa behind them all. "I don't think he's lying."

The two of them made eye contact. The man, and Theresa. Her emerald eyes met his ice blue eyes. She heard a deep humming growing louder and louder in her brain. Colours of icey blue swirled around her head, clashing with warm sapphire green ones. In realization of what was happening, their eyes both opened wide and broke eye contact.

"You... You're telepathic..." He gazed at her in astonishment.

She nodded shakily, frozen in astonishment. The man gasped, just as frozen as she was. "I- I thought I was the only one."

"You can read our minds?" Asked Jay. _Explains the voice I just heard._

The man looked to him. "To a degree. Its not my greatest strength, but I can do it."

Theresa spoke up. "Wouldn't that have been on my files?"

"If I recall, it said something about being strong willed and having a great sense of direction, whatever that means. Cronus could be rather vague." His eyes were locked onto Theresa's in a gaze of amazement.

Going into his mind, she said, S_o what is this with the gods. Can you tell us?_

_No. I can do better. I can show you. Come closer._

She walked over to him, unaware of the others glaring at her. They couldn't hear the conversation going on in their heads. All they saw was the two of them approach each other, locked in an eternal staring contest. She knelt down so they were face to face. She put her delicate hands on his temple. Opening her eyes, she saw from the mans eyes. She could see the others, and her in front of him. A sudden blackness then consumed her mind, taking her into a sudden and violent vision. It was one of the most vivid visions she had ever experienced.

_Heart pounding. Air is warm and moist like breath. Feeling of soft skin. Acomplishment. Power. Strength. Love. A sudden voice pierces the atmosphere. "Its done.". The warm feeling suddenly goes. A girls scream shrieks through every nook and cranny. "Eric" it screams until it is suddenly cut silent. Feeling of cold rain. Lightning. Pain. An old man limping. Pain again. Heat. Fire. Blood. Another scream. This one male. Voice is broad. That of a young adult. "Run." He yells. Sweating. Panting. Sound of clashing swords. The taste of metal on teeth. One last scream. Nothing is said, just screaming. Pace quickens. Image of old man chasing. Lightning as he goes. Mountains crumbling, skyscrapers falling, earth shattering before ones own feet. Falling. Firre. The smell of rotting flesh. A voice yells "ZEUS, I TRUSTED YOU". The mans voice._

Reality. The shock of it was so strong, that when Theresa returned to them, she fell back, into the hands of Atlanta and Neil.

"WHAT THE HELL WAS THAT?" yelled Jay. Dazed from the fall, she regained her awareness again. She was speechless. Neil helped the chair back upright. Both the man and Theresa were winded and sweating. Jay aimed his sword at the man's scruffy neck, "What did you do to her? Tell me you piece of shit!"

"E- Eric." She muttered. Her words stopped the entire room. "His name is Eric."

Eric nodded, out of breath. "You understood it. You understood it all!" She nodded.

She tried to make sense of it all. She tried to summarize what she had learned. The emotions, the experiences. It was like she had been there with him. Despite it all being jumbled up in her head, all that came out was: "I'm so sorry."

Silence filled the room. The man smiled, but the smile was warm, unlike his glares at Jay."

"Okay, can someone please explain what's going on?" Blurted Neil, flamboyantly of course.

"My name is Eric, a descendant of Perseus. I was a part of a team once. Much like yours." spoke Eric. There were four of us. Taken from our homes by the gods and put together to fight some beast when it wriggled free from his prison several years back. The name of it avoids me, but it threatened to floor the earth and raze Olympus.

"Did you succeed?" asked Jay.

"Well we're all above water right now aren't we? Anyways, when we defeated him, we were to have our lives go back to normal. Thats what the Olympians promised us, as I'm sure they promised you. Well the next day after we won, they came into the brownstone to kill my entire squad, saying that we were loose ends and were too risky to keep. They killed everyone I knew or cared about. Those people were my world for nine months. the gods had brought us together to defeat this beast, and the gods killed them. I escaped, went into hiding and I guess they assumed I died."

Jay didn't believe that story for a second. "Nice story. How long did it take for you to prepare hat one?"

The mans sorry look turned sharp and cold once agin. "It's the truth. Why else would I team up with someone like Cronus? I've been lying low ever since, until I come across you guys fighting him. When I heard you were with the gods. Yeah, I took sides with Cronus. I though he might have been able to give me a chance for revenge."

"That was you. You were the one who helped him escape."

"Yeah."

"So..."

"So what? Its in the past now. I may have stopped you but I'm not stopping you now."

"Not by choice."

Eric frowned. "Look. I'm not brainwashed and I am not stupid, and I am not Cronus's little bitch like that giant. If you ask me, the guys out of his fucking mind hell bent on killing you and your gods. There is no way in hell he can succeed. Not with you in the way, that's for sure. I can see why he's been struggling. You guys sure know how to throw punches." He nodded to Archie, who reacted by looking like a punished puppy.

Jay stepped forward sternly. "You've told alot about yourself. Not so much about Cronus. What is he up to?"

"I'm sorry I don't have much information for you on that."

"What do you mean? You said you would tell us everything!" Yelled Archie.

"I did, Cronus didn't exactly trust me that much. All I know is that he's trying to unlock some kind of ancient army. That thing in the temple was some sort of key."

"Like what the terracotta army? That isn't even Greek."

"No it's older than that. I-, I don't remember everything he told me." He replied.

"What do you mean 'you don't remember'? The deal was you tell us everything in exchange for not handing you in to the gods!" Jay was furious. He was not interested in playing games with this man.

"I think I have filled my end of the bargain very well. I have told you everything I know about Cronus's plan. I didn't say it was much, but I have also told you about the Olympians plan."

Jays fury was only intensified. "What that story about you and your team? Bullshit. _We_ know the gods Eric, not you. You're just trying to stir us up with your story." To the others, he said, "He's still in league with Cronus. He's not giving us anything."

"That_ story_ is the reason my friends are dead. I'm trying to help you Jay." Jay just ignored him. He was tired of the mans act. He wanted to hand him over right there and then, but that risked the man killing himself. He would be useless to them dead and he had the answers which they needed. Jay knew it. He was just hiding them. He gathered the team to the other side of the room, away from the man hung up on the wall.

"What do you guys think? This information is not much to go on."

"Maybe Hera might know something." proposed Herry. _A useful idea from Herry. This day is getting weirder and weirder._

"Good idea Herry." Replied Jay. "I will go over and ask her tomorrow."

"And what about our guest?" asked Neil. "My room is just upstairs. If he snores, I'm not going to get any sleep, and that is going to be a disaster to my complexion."

"The information he gave us was useless. Let's hand him over," said Archie. Atlanta gave him a very sour look which seemed to say, _You are in no position to say that_.

"I don't know", replied Atlanta to the question, "The ancient army sounds pretty believable, but I don't buy his story about the gods betraying him. Virtually nobody but us has seen them except for and we know them better than anyone. They're good people- gods- whatever. I don't think he's bluffing about killig himself though. I see it in his eyes. He means to do it if we push him into it."

"No." Blurted Theresa. "I saw them do it. He showed me. He gave me a vision. I think hes telling the truth."

"Theresa," Jay said, "He may have been manipulating you. You're tired, susceptible to being tricked into thinking he's telling you the truth. Telepaths can do that."

Theresa's face turned to Jay with a sour look. "What kind of an idiot do you think I am Jay?" She turned and stormed out furiously. Jay grumbled and looked to one team member, who had been very quiet the whole time. Odie looked spaced out of time. He was in deep thought.

"What do you think Odie? You're the smartest one among us around here."

Odie remained to look spaced out, but he replied. "There's no evidence that the brownstone has had previous teams here before us, but it doesn't seem to be impossible. There are too many blanks that need to be filled."

"And this, ancient army? "

"I've never heard of anything like that in Greek or Roman mythology. I am going to do my research and I'll see what I bring up."

Jay nodded. The rest of the team walked out of the room, eager to reach their beds for a well-earned sleep.

It was just Jay and Eric. Jay looked to him a gain, with a look of disgust.

Eric meanwhile, just smiled with his white, well aligned teeth. Jay wanted to punch them all out of his perfect, sly smile. He began to feel envious of Archie.

"Is your family usually this dysfunctional?"Eric joked sarcastically.

"No." Jay said, emotionless and stern as ever, "What did you do to her?"

"I told her the truth. Just like I did to you. All of you. Look, Jay. I know the gods. They were good to me as well. Their kindness quickly dissipated when we finished our job. I am trying to warn you, friend."

"I am not your friend and I'm not buying your stories."

"Deny them all you want. It will cost you your life. They're true. Your girlfriend could see reason. Why can't you?"

"She's not my girlfriend. If you're so smart, tell me. Why would the gods kill us off? What makes us a 'loose end' as you so love to call it."

Eric just looked at Jay, astonished,

"Don't you see whats going on? Surely a man as smart as you can see that something is off: The god of time escapes, and they send mortals. The great and powerful gods of Olympus are sending you; Seven teenagers to fight Cronus, who is considered the most powerful titan of all as he threatens to raze the world to ashes,"

Erics eyes looked right into him, spending shivers down Jays spine,"And do you know what the craziest thing about this is?"

"What?" Asked Jay.

_You're winning._


	7. Chapter 7

**Authors Note:** The reviews have been absolutely fantastic. Thank you to everyone for the reviews! They really do go a long way to making the stories come to life. And, it has also reached my attention that this story has made it to the nominations for a few of the cott fanfic awards 2013, which is really fantastic. I'm just happy to be nominated!

**Walls of Bricks**

**Act One: Destruam**

**Chapter 07**

_Chapter Theme: Hope for Now- City and Colour_

The alarm rang in Jays ear after what seemed like minutes after he hit the bed. It had been a long night, and a very short sleep. It was nothing he hadn't dealt with before, but the words that Eric had said that night haunted him.

_You're winning. _Seemed to echo in his head. It was maddening. He had gotten almost no sleep, and doubts were spiralling in his head.

_What if he's right? What if something really is off?_

He slowly, dragged himself out of bed. The bathroom mirror proved that all the eye bags he lost from the party last week were now back in full force. _I can sleep after school._ He told himself, but the end of school seemed forever away. He had to ask Hera about the army, and attend all of his classes. Herry also mentioned going to the gym afterwards which Jay knew he would have to turn down. Once he was dressed and clean, he proceeded downstairs with the plan on coffee and motivation to stop Cronus to keep him alive for the day. He entered the kitchen to the smell of a hot brew already cooking.

"Coffee?" Atlantas voice woke up his mind a little. He saw her sitting at the kitchen table, hands clamped over a bowl of half eaten cornflakes.

"Atlanta? I wasn't expecting to see you up yet."

"Couldn't sleep." she solemnly replied. "I tried, but I just kept remembering him. That man. I keep wondering what he was thinking before I killed him."

"I do have to say, you did surprise us there. Not something that happens everyday."

"No. It isn't." She sighed, "Have you ever killed someone Jay?"

Jay thought for a moment, in all of their previous missions, people were never killed. Some might have been hurt from collateral damage, but never a death. "No," he replied, "I don't think I have."

Atlanta shrugged "Would you? If it meant defeating Cronus or saving the team?"

"I can't answer a question like that Atlanta. I've never been in that situation." Replied Jay. "I know what you did was tough, but you shouldn't worry about the past. What's done is done, and like Archie said, he was going to kill you and many others if you didn't do what you did. Lets talk about something else. What's your plan for today?" It was a stupid question, but Jay figured it might stop Atlanta brooding over the pirate.

It seemed to work. Atlantas voice seemed to perk up when she began talking. She also began to continue eating her cereal, which Jay hadn't seen her do since he got downstairs,

"I have class, then target practice with Artemis, then lunch. I'd say you have a more interesting day then me. You're the one with the date."

Jay smiled as he took a sip of coffee, the taste alone seemed to energize his brain, "Oh yeah, I almost forgot."

"Make sure you have a nap before you go. You look like shit." She got up from the table, heading out the door, " If he leaves on you I'll break her by the way. And you too for falling for her."

Jay laughed. Atlanta did not like Sabrina one bit, but her hatred didn't run as deep as Theresa's. While shedid not like Sabrina, she did trust Jay to make the right choice. Jay took the comment as Atlantas way of accepting the circumstances. It was better than he feared would be her reaction to it.

_I wish Theresa was as reasonable about all this._

An hour later, Jay had successfully traversed to the school half asleep. School wouldn't begin for another hour. Now was usually the best time to talk to Hera. The gods didn't need to worry much about sleep, and he didn't have to worry about people seeing him break into the janitors closet. The bright sun in Hera's glass roof nearly blinded him. He almost felt like he was drunk, wandering his way to the couch, where he just flopped down. Only now realizing how exhausted he was.

"Jay, how good to see you!" Heras voice exclaimed from somewhere, Jay couldn't point out where. A glass of liquid was placed in his hands. Instinctively, he drank it. Suddenly, he felt much less tired.

He made more sense of his surroundings. The peacocks were walking behind him, looking at him with hungry eyes, and Hera was on the opposite side of the couch, smiling.

"What did you give me? I feel much better."

"Something we gods like to keep onto for ourselves. It was a glass of milk. Looked like you could use it."

Jay put the empty glass on the coffee table. Feeling revived. The gods weren't striking him as the bloodthirsty demons that Eric had been going on about.

"So how was the mission? I trust that I went well. Did you learn anything about what Cronus is doing?"

"Not as much as we would like to. What we do know is that he was there for a relic. I looked very old. From what we heard, it was meant to resurrect or summon an ancient army. Is there anything that might match this description?

Hera frowned. Getting, she walked over to her desk. Jay looked at her curiously.

"Hera?"

"No such army exists Jay. Where did you get this story? Did Cronus tell you this?"

He looked up to see Hera's curious gaze. It gave doubt to the facts that Eric had given. Odds would be that the gods would know about an army of the likes that Cronus was looking for. Still, he wasn't ready to tell Hera that they were hiding a man in the brownstone.

"Yes. Cronus told us, but it seemed rather vague."

Hera smiled, "Well, it sounds like he may have learned something. Its possible he was feeding you false information to lure you off his back. I have never heard of or seen an army that can be summoned from a relic in a temple. Still, an ancient army isn't something to take lightly. You should ask Chiron. He may know something that I have forgotten.I've been alive for a long time, and cannot be expected to remember every detail."

When Jay asked Chiron about the army, Chiron seemed just as confused as Hera.

"It sounds like my fathers really lost it if you ask me," laughed Chiron, "He's now running after things that don't exist!"

Jay wasn't completely convinced by the answers he had received from the two. Like Hera had said, an ancient army wasn't something to take lightly, and the gods seemed to be joking that Cronus was lost in his imagination.

Jay decided to leave, After pestering Hermes and Chiron for half an hour, he had gotten nowhere. It wasn't the gods he didn't trust, only their memories. _They are old after all._ He thought to himself. He left, hoping Odie might have found something in the library.

* * *

Odie sat by himself at a lunch table, stirring a strawberry milkshake, looking at giant old books. There was no point hiding it. He was exhausted from the night before. He was working on three hours of sleep, and had spent his entire morning in the library. He had skipped all of his morning classes so he could look through two dozen old books from Chirons library. Jay had joined him an hour in, and after sharing information, things seemed bleak. Together, they had made zero progress on learning about this army.

He stared blankly at his notes until Neil came along with his favourite cafeteria meal; chicken Caesar salad and a mineral water.

"You do realise that mineral water is just overpriced water right?" said Odie. Neil looked at Odies grumpy expression.

"Nuh uh, it is from a spring in the Himalayas and it has more nutrients."

"It's water. And where have you been all day?"

"I have to make sure I get my beauty sleep Odie, even if I miss a few classes."

"You missed the entire morning."

Neil just looked at him oddly.

"So did you if I recall."

"Was doing research for the team."

"And how has that gone?"

Odie slammed the heavy open book shut. The entire table shook from the heavy bindings slamming together.

"Nothing. I looked everywhere for stuff on an ancient army and all I found were a few fables on the terracotta army and some weird Egyptian curses. It's like that thing Cronus picked up never even existed."

Neil looked at him suspiciously, and handed him a chocolate bar in brown wrapping.

"That milkshake won't fill you up Odie, eat a snickers. "

"Why?" asked Odie as he grumpily took the snickers and started chomping away at it.

"Because Odie, you simply are not you when you're hungry. More like an undersized Mike Tyson."

Odie laughed. The snickers did make him feel a little better. Little sleep and failed research was a bad way to start a day, Odie needed one of Neil's silly jokes, even if it was completely stolen from the television ad.

"See? Not so bad." Laughed Neil.

"Jay said that the gods didn't know what it was either. Maybe Hera was right. Maybe Cronus is leading us on a false trail." Said Odie.

"You mean Eric is leading us on a false trail. He's the one who told us."

Odie clenched his lips at that comment, "I don't know what to think of Eric quite yet. Its not impossible that hes still in league with Cronus, but he seemed pretty quick to defect."

Both their gazes turned to the purple haired friend of theirs, sitting down with them. His tray had a bowl of soup and a cafeteria cheeseburger.

"Not eating with Atlanta?" asked Odie. Archie let out a long sigh.

"I don't think that's a good idea after last night."

"Yeah you two seem kind of tense." said Neil, stating the obvious. He took out his nail file and pointed at Archie before absorbing himself with his nails. "You gotta iron that out if you want to take her to prom."

Archies ears perked up at the sound of that cursed event. "What?"

Odie crossed his arms, "Archie, we're not blind. We know how you feel about her. It's been two years and you haven't said a damn thing. With Cronus nearly gone, we could all be separated in a few months. Maybe you should tell her."

Archie looked solemly at his soup. "Well what do you want me to do about it? Shes certainly not going to say yes after what I made her do last night."

"Is she worth it Archie?" asked Odie.

Archie paused before replying, despite his pause, he answered with resolve, "A thousand times over."

"Then go talk to her about it. Last night I mean. If she means that much to you, you guys can't just leave like this."

Archie went back to looking at his soup for a few seconds, pondering about what Odie had just said.

"You're right."

Smiles, waiting to leap out for years, came from the corners of Neil and Odie's mouths.

"I'll talk to her. Hell, I'll ask her too."

"That's the spirit Arch," exclaimed Odie, patting him on the shoulder. "Just don't wait forever to ask her to prom as well. Someone will ask her if you don't. I've seen it happen before."

* * *

Eric slept uncomfortably on the concrete floor, pondering on how he was ever going to get out of this place. Jay had been courteous enough to turn off the lights, giving him some shuteye. Eric thought he might have been able to wriggle his way out of the chains. These chains however were Hephaestus shackles. He recognized the work. They were virtually impossible to escape from. The teenagers had been smart with his imprisonment. Maybe they knew what he was capable of, but odds were that they were just lucky.

Eric had been impressed by the team. They were an efficient bunch all things considered. They had been together for longer than his team had been, and the evidence was there. They were tougher and far more experienced than his team had been when they were finished. _It won't be much use for them when the gods turn on them._ He had done his best to warn them, but the gods had hidden their tracks well. He had thrown his words at a brick wall, and all it did was bounce back and hit him in the face.

Instead of heeding the words, they kept him tied to the wall by an unbreakable chain. _Gods, how I hate this place._ He thought to himself. The brownstone didn't seem to welcome him home as it did when he first came here all those years ago. There bad memories in the walls. The team couldn't see it, but Eric had seen the taint for it was.

The door opened slowly. Eric was half expecting it to be Jay, but who he sensed was someone else altogether.

It was the girl, Theresa. She was the only one who seemed to believe him. While the others called his stories fiction, she saw the truth.

This girl however was not like them. She went into his mind and saw the memories and saw them for what they were. Eric had never met another mortal telepath and neither had she. No doubt she had questions. Questions he wasn't sure he'd have the answers for.

"Theresa, how can I help you?" She didn't seem amused by his greeting. "I assume you're here looking for answers. I may not have them all, but I'll do what I can."

Theresa just sat down on the cement floor opposite of Eric, the two of them seemed to stare at each other for some time, waiting for the other person to talk. Eric eventually decided to break the ice.

"You look tired. I personally find that sharing memories is quite exhausting."

"I was surprised, not tired from it. I wasn't expecting it to be so vivid," she said.

"Being telepathic, our brains can process other telepaths minds more efficiently. I guess its kind of like an internet. We can share memories much easier than with non telepaths."

Theresa paused before speaking again, "How did you become telepathic?"

Eric took a deep breath before speaking, "The gods told me that my ancestor was Perseus. Admittedly, I didn't buy it for a while. They went on and told me about his accomplishments, and assigned Athena as my mentor. He was supposedly, brave, cunning, and handsome. At the time, I didn't feel like I was any of those things. But, as time passed, I realized that I was different. There were things I could do that others couldn't. They never said anything about telepathy. It was something I seemed to discover as my strength improved. The gods said it was because of my ancestor, but now I see that I'm not alone, I'm starting to think its something else."

Theresa frowned, 'What?"

"Evolution."

"Evolution? You believe that even after all that you've seen?"

"How could you not believe it? Look at everything and where we are. You've seen what I've seen. The gods can be as animalistic as us. There are things that the stories just don't fill in, and who says that the existence of gods counteracts evolution?"

"I've never really thought about it like that."

"The gods don't like to bring it up. It would show emphasis on their inability to control nature." The man's eyes grew colder. "That's why they killed my friends. It was because we were getting powerful, and they were scared."

"Did that really happen?" asked Theresa. The enthusiastic look in Eric's face drained away and Theresa felt guilty for asking. He nodded sadly. "In this very house." He muttered, " A few days before, I remember my mentor looking very edgy. She seemed stressed about something. When I asked her what was going on, she refused to talk about it. The gods you know are a lie. When you finish Cronus. They will try to eradicate you like they did to me. I know it seems crazy, but it's true."

"I know. I saw it."

Eric smiled with a glimmer of hope, "Then you will see it coming. The others don't believe it, but if you can convince them before its too late-"

"That won't be easy." said Theresa. The team didm' see the memories, making Erics story more theory than reality.

"I want to learn more." said Theresa, "Persephone taught me what I know, but I dont feel that she is teaching me everything."

"She's smart for doing that. The heightened mortal mind can be a dangerous weapon against all kind of enemies."

"Including gods?"

"Especially against gods. That's why I've lived so long. I'm always aware of where they are, what they're doing, whether they're on my trail or not. It keeps me a step ahead o them."

"You can do that?"

"It becomes quite easy with practice. Especially if you know who you're looking for. I have no doubt you could do it."

Theresa frowned. She was often aware of where the team was, or Cronus, but she couldn't track them all over the world amongst billions of people. Eric's mind had clearly been very attuned to the gods to be able to detect them anywhere in the world.

"Can you teach me?" she asked.

"No." said Eric, "Your powers are already greater than mine."

"But you just said you can detect the gods from the other side of the world-"

"That isn't something I can teach. Its just something you need to practice. You have a lot of potential Theresa. You have already surpassed me in many things, and I think you have surpassed Persephone as well."

"What? That's impossible!"

"It is possible, why the hell not?"

"Persephone's a god."

"So?" Eric replied, "If there's one thing I've learned about the gods is that they are not as powerful as they say they are. I've been watching them for fourteen years. I can see what happens behind closed doors."

Theresa frowned, "How in the hell do I do that?"

"_Explore your mind, and trust your instincts. Practice the things you can do that Persephone didn't teach you._" he spoke mentally to her. Theresa's stern look turned into a confused frown. She remembered back to the island, when she stopped Herry from falling into the ravine. It was a split second thing. She had never practiced telekinesis with Persephone, but there had been other times where she managed to make things move. They all seemed to be in times of desperation or stress. Persephone told Theresa that telekinesis is one of the most demanding art of telepathy, that the power needed to do it was so intensive, only the best can pull it off. She had never practiced telekinesis ever, but she seemed tpo be able to do it. Perhaps Theresa's powers were greater than she thought. Eric seemed convinced of it.

_That's it?_ She asked.

_That's it. _ His cold eyes seemed to go dull for a moment. Theresa read his mind to see the man was reminiscing.

_What was her name? _She asked.

_Gemma. Her name was Gemma._

_I'm sorry._

_Don't be. You remind me a lot of her. You're strong, pretty, and resilient. She would have liked you. I met her when I was your age, although it seems like forever now._ _"For your own sake, don't come back down here. I don't think your leader Jay would be too happy about that. You know how to reach me."_

Theresa smirked, her emerald eyes refusing to move from their locked starring contest.

_If Jay has a problem with it, he can go fuck himself._


	8. Chapter 8

**Authors Note:** Many thanks for the reviews guys! I'm sending this one out a little bit early this week, but I think it should deliver. If you love tension you've come to the right place! I'm not sure how many of you have had prom, but I've done my best to keep things accurate.

We are slowly edging our way closer to the end of act one, I hope you are all enjoying the story. I personally am very happy with how the story is going! I always appreciate reviews of all shapes and sizes so if you have any thoughts, please don't be afraid to post it up. I can help fill in questions and it gives me an idea of how the story is on your side!

**Walls Of Bricks**

**Act One: Destruam**

**Chapter 08**

_Chapter Theme: Lean- The National_

The evening arrived at the brownstone. Herry's "famous lasagne" was on the menu, but less than half was eaten. Archie walked in after a tiring visit to the gym. Everyone was sat by the table eating. All except for Jay, who had already gone out for his date.

"Hey Archie," said Herry enthusiastically, while the rest of the room remained quiet and continued eating the lasagne. Archie just shrugged and sat down on the couch beside Atlanta, who gave him a foul look. Opposite him, Archie noticed Odie trying to give him raised eyebrows without alerting the rest of the table.

He understood the implication; he was trying to figure out if he had sorted things out, Archie told him the truth by shaking his head sideways. When Atlanta looked up, Odie and Archie resumed eating. With her back hunched, she got up.

"I'm taking my dinner to my room. See you all in the morning." He left the room, with the stairs creaking by each step. Each one was a reminder to Archie in what he made her do, why she now hated him. I even seemed to sound like the stretching of a bowstring.

He needed to sort this out. Not just for his sake, but also for the team. They were all looking at him as Atlanta left. The two of them argued enough already. This was just going to make things worse, potentially reducing the morale of the team. He stood up, handed his emptied plate of lasagne, and with a "Thanks Herry", he followed Atlanta up the stairs. He didn't see the smiles that Odie and Neil were giving each other, but he knew.

Outside Atlanta's door, he could hear mellow indie music coming from within her room. He didn't recognise the song, but he recognised Atlantas favourite band. _City and Colour. _With a deep breath, he knocked gently.

"Yes?"

"Its me."

No reply. Archie went red. He knew this would happen. _She's still mad and won't talk to me._

To Archies' delight, the door opened, and her red head popped around the corner.

"Need something?"

"I just want to talk."

She sighed. "And what would it be that you want to talk about?"

"You know exactly what."

"I'm not in a forgiving mood right now."

"I'm not asking for forgiveness, I shouldn't have made you do it. I made you kill someone, and I want to say sorry, if it's worth anything. You don't need to forgive me but lets just talk about it. Not talking to each other is just hurting the morale of the team."

Atlanta looked solemly at the ground, contemplating his offer. She eventually decided to open the door.

"Alright let's talk."

Archie felt a tingle of joy. He walked in and she closed the door behind her. The music went on, but it didn't scream above their voices.

"Atlanta, I'm-."

"Archie please. Let me do the talking for a second."

_Hushed by Atlanta. Not a good start._

Atlanta strolled around the room, seeming anxious. "I'm starting to get worried about you Archie. You've been changing. I'm not sure how much the others have noticed, but I know you, and believe me, you are changing."

Archie shrugged "I don't feel any different."

"Different? What isn't different about you? When I first met you, I don't think you would have ever actually considered killing someone. Last night you killed two men without hesitation. Sure, I killed someone too, but you seem completely unphased by it." Atlanta had stopped strolling around the room and was looking him in the eyes with a an awkward stare, "Did it not affect you at all?"

Archie shrugged again. _What did I feel when I killed them?_ Archie didn't recall anything emotional about the event besides Atlanta's disapproval. _Was I meant to feel something?_

"I never thought about it really. I guess I just felt normal. It was a part of the job."

"Killing should never feel normal, Archie. Also, you lost your temper with Biff earlier last week. You say you control your temper, but I'm not sure if you can. I think that, well, you're not always yourself anymore."

Archie let out a gasp, almost imitating a laugh, "You-, you think that I'm losing it, don't you?"

Pursing her lips tightly, she nodded.

Archie stuttered in his gasps, "I-, I don't know what to say."

"We need you Archie. I don't want to lose you."

_Lose me? I'm not going anywhere._ Archie told himself. He was almost angry at her for thinking he was going crazy, but at the same time, she wasn't wrong. _What if I am going crazy? No. I won't._

"No, you won't lose me. I won't let myself." Archie said with refound confidence, "I promise you, Atlanta. You won't lose me. Never. I have your back."

Atlanta looked at him. Her eyes had gone from angry to concerned, "Archie, don't make a promise you can't keep. I've looked into this. Insanity is known to be, well, a slippery slope."

"That's why I need you Atlanta. I need you to make sure I never do that. You're one of the only people I can trust everything with. I know you won't let me down."

"Don't worry Arch, I've got your back." She smiled with her caring eyes and placed her soft hand on his arm, still pulsing from the weights he lifted earlier. It was so good to see her smile again. "I need to catch up on my sleep. I'll see you tomorrow."

Archie walked out of that room conently. He had made amends to his best abilities, and he may even be one step closer to asker Atlanta to prom.

_One step at a time Archie._ He told himself. He still had a long way to go.

* * *

Odie and Herry were the last ones up. It wasn't that late, but they were all working on very little sleep. They had decided to wait for Jay, the man on the date. Herry was watching a game of girls' beach volleyball, mostly for the very attractive outfits, and Odie was aimlessly scrolling down Facebook on his phone when Jay walked in.

"Hey guys," he said cheerfully. "Didn't expect to see you up this late."

"It was probably best to know that you got home safely." Odie said, his eyes slightly droopy and his brain a little fuzzy. Looking up from his phone, he saw that Jay was wearing a very bright, cheesey smile.

"I'll take it went well?"

"Oh yeah it did." He hadn't stopped smiling yet.

"Did you score with her?" Asked Herry very bluntly.

Jay laughed at Herrys bluntness, "No, probably won't until prom."

Odie perked up at that word. "You're going with Sabrina?"

Jay nodded, "I asked her, and she said yes. We've been talking since the party, and I kind of planned it out for tonight."

"Why didn't you tell us? We would've helped!" said Herry. Odie wasn't quite sure what Herry was talking about. Odie wouldn't have helped with this. He was no fan of Sabrina, and actually thought she was distracting Jay from the team. The mission aside, Jay seemed to be paying less attention to the team, especially Theresa, who wasn't helping the situation either.

"You guys had enough on your plates, and I wanted to keep it quiet." He lowered his voice, "I don't believe her and Theresa get along."

"That's an understatement. But she's going to find out anyways." Said Odie.

Jay had a small look of defeat on his face, "Yeah, well that's her problem. Not mine."

Odie sighed.

"Something wrong Odie?" asked Jay.

"No. Nothing. Just tired. I think we all are. See you all in the morning." He smiled, "Congrats on the date man."

The others departed to their rooms as well, but Odie walked over to the light switch. As the others disappeared, He let his guard down. His usual, relaxed smile turned into a dismal expression.

_This isn't going to end well._ He thought to himself as he shut off the lights. The room went dark, and Odie suddenly felt strange, the air went a bit stale, like a poisonous essence had just made it's home in the house.

* * *

The fires were lit dim in Cronus's cavern, and the god of time was sitting at a stone table, staring profusely at the object he had taken from the temple. The surface if the stone hexagon had a marble crescent moon surrounding a large, beautiful blue sapphire in the center, staring back at Cronus with a deep, dark stare. The problem was Cronus had not recalled the use of this object. The scroll had emptied all of its contents, but there were still missing facts. _What do I do with this thing?_ That was the main question circulating in his head.

Laying his finger over the sapphire, he could feel the glowing heat that the sapphire was emitting. It pulsed gently beneath his muscular fingers. Not having the memories to solve the puzzle was driving him crazy. No matter how hard he tried to remember, there was nothing but a void where his memory was.

"Damn this thing!" He swore. Nothing he could think of seemed to get anywhere.

He had sealed all information to these scrolls; perhaps each memory was fragmented into the seals. It may have been possible Memories were easily split into other parts, however, was another seal containing the information he needed?

It dawned upon him what he had to do. _No, not again._ The first scroll had likely been the most painful experience in his long life, and Cronus had been exhausted from the fight in the temple the other night. He had felt that his power was not regenerating fast enough. _What is happening to me?_ He asked himself. _A god should never get tired._

He was right. Gods did not suffer from fatigue, or weakness, yet somehow, against all laws of power and sense, Cronus's power was draining. His powers still regenerated over time, but the rate at which they returned to him was significantly slowing down. It wasn't the tree with the golden apples. That was routinely looked after and was the gods lifeline as well as Cronus's. There was something else at work. An unseen force was draining his power, but where was that power going? Power does not simply vanish. That would be against the laws of physics. Cronus's power was going somewhere. That, he knew. However, where it was going, he had no idea. There didn't seem to be much he could do.

Cronus took a weary sigh. _Power or not, I need that scroll._

There were several dozen of the scrolls to choose from, and he had to find the one with the information he needed. If he picked the wrong one, he would not be able to reseal them. Cronus needed to be focused. He had come this far, and sore, distracting memories were the last thing he needed.

Each scroll's golden seal had an insignia on it. He picked up the broken seal, put it together, and saw the insignia; Laced in gold, there was a silhouette of a long necked bird, etched with flaming embers. _There you are, _Cronus looked almost fondly at the bird. He remembered that was what the thing looked like. Something told him to hate the picture, but Cronus ignored the feeling. This "bird" was his last chance at getting revenge against the gods. At the rate at which his powers were depleting, he wasn't sure if he could survive another failed attempt. Cronus began to look at the wall of scrolls, carefully hidden behind magically sealed glass. If he found the other scroll with the matching insignia, it may would the information he needed.

Agnon trailed behind him. Cronus was secretly glad to be rid of Eric. The mortal was resilient and witty, constantly asking questions and disobeying Cronus. He had offered assistance out of personal interest, not loyalty. Cronus needed the help desperately, but he knew that man was too smart for his own good. That was probably why he opened ne of the scrolls. _Pandora and Eric, same story, different times. Mortals are all the same._

Agnon was a much better example of a henchman. He wasn't as efficient or as smart as Eric, but he was loyal to the bitter end. Cronus valued that in his henchman far more than insolence and efficiency. It took a smartass mortal for Cronus to realize that. He began to wish he hadn't killed off so many of his giants early in the war.

It didn't matter now. They were gone, Eric was also gone, likely dead, and he had sent Cronus down a path of utter desperation. The only way onward was forward. If Cronus didn't find a way to defeat the teenagers or their gods, he was a dead god. _Dead god, never thought I'd have to worry about death_.

His eyes scanned the dozens of different insignias. He wondered what each one held, but he quickly shut the idea away, they were painful to read, and were likely just sore memories from his long and hard reign all those years ago.

At last, he found it. The long necked bird in embers. This one did look slightly different, but the bird was the same. This time it was standing on the top of a snowy mountain. He picked it up from its wooden holder, and placed it on his stone desk. Agnon grunted.

"I know, Agnon. I don't like it either. But I don't think we have a choice." The regaining of the memories was a painful task, as the foolish mortal also found out. Cronus was completely baffled how the mortal survived the procedure. Cronus had to face it again this time. He knew how painful it was going to be this time, and was hesitant to open it. But like he just said, he didn't have a choice.

*Grunt* Cronus knew what Agnon meant; _Please be careful._

"I will be, now step back." Cronus said softly, ensuring the giant that he was going to be OK.

_I will be okay. I am a god. The god of time and space._

Cronus took a deep breath. His scythe slipped into his hand from his sleeve, he held it high, and, with his godly fury, unleashed his strength onto the golden seal.

The seal was cleaved perfectly in half, as if it was done with a pair of tiny scissors. Cronus placed his scythe to the side, his hands shaky as he picked up the scroll, and unravelled it. A strong light confronted Cronus's face from the paper, seeming to consume his head. Agnon stood back in terror. The scroll was proving to be a challenging force to reckon with, and he watched frightened as his master battled the scroll. Cronus screamed in pain, but he did not turn his eyes away from the scroll. A noise began to emerge from the paper, which consumed the whole cavern. It was a roaring screech, louder than Cronus's like that of a giant, but stronger. Older. _More powerful._ Agnon shut his ears. The screech was too much.

All of a sudden however, it stopped, and Cronus fell to all fours screeching in pain, the light dimmed, and all out vanished; the pain seemed to stay for a bit longer. The paper was left blank. Steam was coming off of was exhausted, but he was strong enough to get up onto his knees.

"I know what must be done," Cronus said weakly, but with confidence. Agnon was quick to offer assistance, but Cronus strongly refused and rose up.

"No Agnon. Come with me. There is much to prepare. We have a long journey ahead."

Cronus knew where he had to go. It was far, far away, but Cronus knew that wasn't going to be the hardest part. He knew he was going to have to make the journey without getting the attention from the teenagers and the gods, as he didn't have the strength to fight them. That was going to be far more difficult.

_I must. It is the only way. I cannot go back now._

* * *

The second floor of the cafeteria had become a popular place to be this week. The boys gathered for a relief from the stress of the past few days. It was only a Tuesday, but it had felt like an age since the mission. And prom was the coming Friday. The whole school was tense with anticipation. Many people who hadn't gotten a date were growing desperate. Many of the dateless girls were wearing suggestive outfits, advertising themselves to the river of equally desperate boys. The team managed to avoid getting into the stream of desperation because they were mostly too busy to notice it. They had all gotten very behind on their schoolwork, and unsurprisingly, Odie was the only one with his stuff together. Barely.

"This doesn't make sense!" said Neil; shrugging his shoulders at the handout he was assigned. Less than half a question out of five was filled out.

"If you paid attention in class, it would make sense." Said Odie.

"Well sorry, I'm only taking physics because I need to graduate, and I'll still pass if I don't hand this in."

Jay gave him a stern look, "Neil, if you don't do this, you'll have no idea what's on the exam. And you WILL fail the course if you don't do well on that."

"Look Neil, I'll help you." Said Odie, leaning over and explained what sounded like gibberish to everyone else. Neil was a lost cause, especially when it came to physics terminology.

"See? It's easy!" He finished, waving his hands around like it was magic.

"Easy? How is your mind able to process all that, along with everything else?" asked Archie, who sat quietly on the far side of the table.

Odie laughed. "This is a holiday from the stuff I've been working on recently. I've been making new software for our phones. It that makes them process faster than the latest supercomputer. These things can now do just about anything."

"Well, they sure needed an upgrade. It was like carrying a metal brick everywhere." Muttered Herry, as he chomped down on a messy chilli cheese dog. He had just sat down, and had a very wide smile on his face as he ate his lunch. It looked quite disturbing and the whole table noticed.

"What's got you so happy there Herry?" asked Jay, even though he knew the answer. _Hell, I was there_. Jay let out a small smirk, waiting for the tables reaction.

Herry put down his chilli cheese dog for a moment, and waited until he as emptied his mouth of contents before talking like a true gentleman.

"I asked Katrina to prom, and she said yes!"

The whole table started smiling and congratulating Herry. Katrina was a girl who Herry had a thing for, but never told her. That of course, had changed now. The whole team knew she also had a thing for him too, but they decided to let Herry figure that out for himself. From what he said, they gathered that Herry had waited for her to come to her locker in the morning, and then approached her with flowers. It seemed like a bold move, but there was a rule when it came to promposals; the more public it is, the less likely they would refuse. It could often be a crude way of exploiting the situation, but Herry genuinely cared about Katrina and wasn't afraid to show it. From what it sounded like, Katrina would have said yes even if nobody was around.

Something caught Archie's attention as the others kept on talking about Herry's new date, causing him to zone out from the conversation. Atlanta was sitting at a table across the cafeteria. Between them was an entire space of air dropping to the first floor below. He didn't know why he didn't sit with her this morning. She was reading a book, and taking notes. It looked terribly boring and Archie was sure she was waiting for relief from her English homework.

Archie could see her as pristinely as if she was right in front of him. Even deep in thought, she was beautiful. Not in a girly way, but in her posture, her brilliant hair, and her strength radiating from her like heat from a fire. He never understood how nobody ever seemed to see how he did. He saw someone who would stay strong, no matter what life threw at her. _Someone who would always have my back_. And he would always have hers. His heart began to beat harder, because he knew his plan. After class later on, he was going to ask her. He wasn't backing away this time. He would refuse to squirm out of it. He would not be able to sleep at night until he told her how he felt. Earlier, Neil was telling him to make a big scene of his promposal, but Archie refused. Unlike Neil, Archie didn't dig audiences. He worked in the shadows. He was still looking at her when he saw a figure rush towards Atlanta. She greeted him with a smile. Archie stood up in his seat, paying closer attention. He recognised the figure.

It was Lucas. He had talked to Archie once or twice, like that time in the hallway. He seemed to be talking to Atlanta like they knew each other, but Archie never remembered seeing them talk at all.

_That's odd. What is he up to?_

All of a sudden, he dropped to one knee, picked up something from his jacket. A rose, offering it to Atlanta, who was cover her face, which was a s red as her hair. The whole cafeteria was looking, gasping. Even the rest of the table had gone awfully quiet. Odie, Neil and Jay took a glimpse at Archie, but Archie wasn't paying attention to them.

The small candle in Archie's heart extinguished. Everything around him went quiet. And all of his facial muscles ceased movement. He knew what was happening. His sharp eyes saw what the tag on the rose said.

_No…._

In delicate, gold writing were the words, "Prom?". He could also see the words move in her lips. "Yes." The crowd around them began to clap. The rule about promposals had stayed true to its word.

Archie suddenly felt a void in his stomach. He felt empty, cheated. He had been so close to telling her, but Lucas had beaten him to the finish line. His lips tightened, his fist clenched.

_SHE BETRAYED YOU! _A voice screamed in his head. _She could have said no, but she didn't. She doesn't have your back. _His breath grew deeper, and stronger, holding back his desire to bawl his eyes out.

_She never did._ The voice said.

He could no longer bear to watch. The others watched him as he rose from his squeaky plastic chair and quickly stormed out of the cafeteria, although nobody else in the cafeteria seemed to notice.

The guys looked at each other. Realising he was on his own, Jay ran after Archie.

"Archie!" Jay yelled. Running after the blue and purple shape running out into the front yard.

He caught the door before it closed, and ran outside, but by the time he called "Archie!" again, Archie was on his longboard, racing down the road and out of sight. There was no way Jay could reach him.

Archie was gone.


End file.
